The 5th AITIGA Joint Committee and related meetings for review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) were held in ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia from 29th July to 1st August 2024, marking a significant milestone in enhancing economic cooperation between ASEAN and India. The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, India and Ms. Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade), Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, Malaysia. Delegates from all 10 ASEAN Countries and India participated in the meeting.

AITIGA Joint Committee had initiated discussions for review of AITIGA in May 2023 and after finalising its Terms of Reference and Negotiating Structure, AITIGA JC and its Sub-Committees started negotiations in February 2024. The first 2 rounds of negotiations were held in February 2024 in New Delhi and in May 2024 in Putrajaya, Malaysia. During the 3^rd round of negotiations in Jakarta, Indonesia, all 8 Sub-Committees dealing with ‘National Treatment and Market Access’, ‘Rules of Origin’, ‘Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures’, ‘Sanitary and Phytosanitary’, ‘Legal and Institutional Issues’, ‘Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation’, ‘Trade Remedies’ and ‘Economic and Technical Cooperation’ met alongside 5th AITIGA JC and held substantive discussions making significant progress during this round. All the Sub-Committees reported the outcomes of their discussions to the 5th AITIGA JC which provided them further guidance to steer their future work.

The Indian lead of delegation held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam on the sidelines of 5^th AITIGA JC meeting to develop a common understanding on the issues being discussed in the AITIGA review. Separate meetings were also held with ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn as well as ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Mr. Satvinder Singh to discuss the possibilities in enhancing economic cooperation between India and ASEAN through review of AITIGA.

Indian delegation interacted with Indian businesses in Jakarta on 31^st July 2024 over a dinner arranged by Embassy of India in Jakarta and listened to the experiences of industry and their expectations from AITIGA review.

ASEAN is an important trade partner of India with about 11% share in India’s global trade. The review of AITIGA, signed in 2009, will help create further opportunities for businesses on both sides to enhance the level of India-ASEAN trade. The next meeting of AITIGA Joint Committee will be held in India from 19-22 November 2024.

Review of AITIGA advances through multisectoral subcommittee negotiations, guiding further work and scheduling next plenary. The 5th AITIGA Joint Committee meeting in Jakarta advanced the formal review of AITIGA through substantive negotiations across eight specialised sub-committees-covering National Treatment and Market Access, Rules of Origin, Standards and Conformity Assessment, Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, Legal and Institutional issues, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, Trade Remedies, and Economic and Technical Cooperation-reported to the Joint Committee, which provided guidance for future work; bilateral consultations and industry engagement accompanied the negotiations, and the next Joint Committee meeting is scheduled in India for November 2024.