Yadav-led delegated reiterated India’s commitment to ensuring outcome of AITIGA review
A high-level Indian delegation has highlighted the country’s continued commitment to fostering strong trade partnerships and ensuring that regional trade agreements are mutually beneficial, building on the US$128.38 billion India-ASEAN bilateral trade recorded in 2025-26.
ASEAN accounting for 10.55 per cent of India’s total global trade, underscoring the importance of the partnership, said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 24 Sept.
The discussions during the ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Consultation held in Manila placed particular focus on the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), which is aimed at facilitating enhanced trade flows and addressing existing trade asymmetries.
“India reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the outcome of the AITIGA review is mutually beneficial and makes the agreement balanced, more effective, user-friendly and trade facilitative for businesses,” said the Ministry.
On the sidelines of the meetings, the Indian delegation interacted with Indian businesses operating in the Philippines on 22 September 2026 and discussed the issues faced by them while exporting commodities and services. The delegation also participated in the ASEAN-India Business Forum 2026, organised on 23 September 2026.
The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Nitin Kumar Yadav, India Participates in 14th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting and 23rd ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Consultation which was held in Manila.
Economic Ministers or their representatives from all 11 ASEAN countries — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam — participated in the meetings along with EAS partners, including India, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, Russia and the United States.
The meetings facilitated an exchange of perspectives on prevailing regional and global economic developments. The ASEAN Secretariat provided a briefing on the regional and global economic outlook for 2027, including the anticipated implications for trade and investment flows.
The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) also presented its paper, “Powering the EAS Region’s Next Wave of Growth: An Integrated Approach to Energy Security and Industrial Clusters.” The paper outlined an integrated approach to energy security and industrial clusters, bringing together energy infrastructure, digital and industrial demand, and coherent trade and investment policies, the Ministry said. fiinews.com
