5th ASEAN-India AITIGA Joint Committee Meeting Concludes in Jakarta

Tags: committee

The fifth meeting of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee took place at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia from July 29 to August 1.

An Overview of the News

• The meeting was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, India, and Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Commerce), Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Malaysia.

• Representatives from all ten ASEAN countries and India attended the meeting.

Negotiation Progress

• Discussions to review AITIGA began in May 2023.

• After finalizing the Rules of Procedure and negotiating structure, negotiations commenced in February 2024.

• The first two rounds of negotiations were held in New Delhi (February 2024) and Putrajaya, Malaysia (May 2024).

Subcommittee Focus

• During the third round of negotiations held in Jakarta, Indonesia, all eight subcommittees concentrated on the following areas: “National Treaty and Market Access,” “Rules of Origin,” “Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures,” “Sanitary and Phytosanitary Matters,” “Legal and Institutional Issues,” “Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation,” “Trade Remedies,” and “Economic and Technical Cooperation.” 

Outcomes and Discussions

• All subcommittees presented their discussions' results at the 5th AITIGA Joint Meeting and received further guidance for future work.

• Bilateral meetings were held between the Indian delegation and counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

• Separate discussions were held with ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn and ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Satvinder Singh to enhance India-ASEAN economic cooperation.

Future Meetings

• The next AITIGA Joint Committee meeting is scheduled to be held in India from November 19 to 22.