India, ASEAN set time-bound targets to close AITIGA review negotiations

India and ASEAN’s Joint Committee on the Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Review has set time-bound deliverables for its Sub-Committees to expedite finalisation of outstanding negotiation chapters, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said following the 13th Joint Committee meeting held on 7 July 2026 at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi.

The meeting was part of a broader hybrid-format session running from 6 to 10 July 2026. It was co-chaired by Shri Nitin Kumar Yadav, Additional Secretary in India’s Department of Commerce, and Ms. Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade) at Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, with delegations from all ten ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Three of the AITIGA Joint Committee’s eight Sub-Committees held parallel sessions: the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, the Sub-Committee on National Treatment and Market Access, and the Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin. The ministry said the Joint Committee gave strategic guidance to each Sub-Committee to encourage tangible outcomes within the agreed timelines.

The ministry described the meetings as a platform to deepen cooperation, strengthen mutual understanding and advance constructive dialogue between India and ASEAN on trade issues.

ASEAN accounts for around 11 per cent of India’s global trade, with bilateral trade between the two reaching $128 billion in 2025-26, the ministry said, pointing to further opportunities to expand trade and investment cooperation.