The 8th meeting of India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was hosted by India in Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India, Shri Siddharth Mahajan and Director General, Department of Trade, Myanmar, Mr. Myint Thura. The representatives of stakeholder Ministries also participated in the meeting.

The meeting discussed the potential areas of cooperation to drive mutual growth. Both the parties conversed about the focus sectors like Shipping, Textile, Health, Indian Pharmacopoeia, Power, Transport & Connectivity, ICT, 5G Telecom Stack and MSME Sector as key avenues for collaboration. The discussion also touched on how this cooperation could lead to long-term benefits, helping both the countries to achieve their goals more effectively while fostering a spirit of mutual support and collaboration.

India also welcomed the creation of the Rupee-Kyat trade Settlement Mechanism and anticipated fostering increased bilateral commerce with Myanmar in local currencies following its implementation.

The meeting reiterated the commitment of completion of review of ASEAN- India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) in an expedite manner to make it simple, mutually beneficial, user-friendly and trade-facilitative for businesses.

Myanmar is the 7th largest trading partner of India within ASEAN. The total bilateral trade in 2023-24 was 1.75 USD Bn.

Rupee Kyat trade settlement mechanism to promote local currency bilateral commerce and enhance cross border trade facilitation and ties. The meeting advanced a framework for enhancing bilateral commercial cooperation through a new Rupee-Kyat trade settlement mechanism to promote local currency transactions, and identified priority sectors-Shipping, Textile, Health, Power, Transport & Connectivity, ICT including 5G, and MSMEs-for regulatory alignment and capacity building. Participants also committed to expedite the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to simplify procedures, improve user friendliness, and enhance trade facilitation for businesses.