Review of India, ASEAN trade pact to create new opportunities for businesses: Goyal

New Delhi: The review of India-ASEAN free trade agreement in goods will forge deeper trade and economic ties besides creating new opportunities for businesses on both sides, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

The progress of review talks was discussed during the 21st ASEAN-India Economic Ministers' (AEM-India) meeting in Vientiane, Laos.

The commerce and industry minister is in Laos to attend this meeting.

"The meeting noted the progress in the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) review, which will forge deeper trade and economic ties and create new opportunities for businesses on both sides," Goyal said in a post on social platform X.

The minister emphasized on the importance of two-way trade, paving the way for stronger supply chain linkages and GVC (global value chain) integration between the two regions benefiting businesses and people across the region.

The review is high on India's priority list to make it more user-friendly, simple and trade-facilitative for businesses, the commerce ministry said in a statement earlier in the day.

India joined ASEAN in 1992 and became its Comprehensive Strategic Partner in 2022.

For the last two consecutive years, ASEAN has been India's second largest trading partner.

The next round of official talks for the ongoing review meeting of the India-Asean free trade agreement in goods will be held in November.

The third round of the negotiations was concluded on August 1 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The pact was signed in 2009. ASEAN is an important trade partner of India with about 11 per cent share in India's global trade.

India's exports to the 10-nation bloc ASEAN were USD 41.2 billion in 2023-24, while imports aggregated at USD 80 billion in the last fiscal.

Both sides are aiming to conclude the review in 2025. The review of the AITIGA was a long-standing demand of Indian businesses.

India is asking for a review of the agreement to eliminate barriers and misuse of the trade pact.

ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.