ASEAN Economic Ministers updated on FDI policy
Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, has invited ASEAN countries to invest in India and be partners in the success story of the fastest growing South Asian economy.
Co-Chairing 19th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting in Siem Reap City, Cambodia, on 16 Sept 2022, Patel briefed the ASEAN Ministers on the steps taken by India in liberalising and simplifying its FDI policy resulting in the ever-increasing volumes of FDI inflows, setting new records.
Patel reiterated India’s commitment to supporting a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN and also to equitable and sustainable trade which balances the aspirations of both the partners.
Trade and economic relations between ASEAN and India are starting to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with bilateral trade reaching US$91.5 billion in 2021, up 39.2% on the year, noted the Ministers.
The ASEAN and Indian Ministers at the meeting also took note of the recommendations made by ASEAN India Business Council (AIBC) to enhance the ASEAN India economic partnership and the activities undertaken by AIBC in 2022.
The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to take collective actions to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic and work towards a sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery.
The Ministers welcomed ASEAN and India to forge collective actions in securing a robust supply chain connectivity to maintain the flow of essential goods and services through the launching of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Upgrade Negotiations, mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination, vaccines production, public health surveillance, and medical technologies in moving forward with the post-pandemic recovery responses and facing future health crises.
The Ministers welcomed the successful outcomes of the Twelfth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held on 12-17 June 2022 in Geneva, and reiterated their support for a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable, and transparent multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO.
In a significant development, the Ministers endorsed the Scope of the Review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make it more user-friendly, simple, and trade facilitative for businesses, as well as responsive to the current global and regional challenges including supply chain disruptions. The Ministers also activated the AITIGA Joint Committee to undertake the review of AITIGA expeditiously.
The meeting was co-chaired by Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce, Cambodia. The Economic Ministers or their representatives from all the 10 ASEAN countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended the meeting. fiinews.com
