India, Asean push to expedite AITIGA review, next round of talks in New Delhi in January

New Delhi: The next round of the review meeting of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) will be held in India in January next year, to appraise the progress of talks and provide guidance for the timely conclusion of the negotiations, the government said Friday.

India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed the agreement in 2009 and its review was launched in 2020. The 15th AITIGA Joint Committee and related meetings to review the progress and negotiations of the agreement were held in Indonesia during October 6-9 wherein the joint committee directed all sub-committees to expedite pending chapters under the AITIGA review, establish firm, time-bound deliverables and urge close coordination to ensure measurable progress.

Meanwhile, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said established rules were being questioned,\ while emerging issues such as sustainability-linked trade measures and digital trade were reshaping the global trade agenda.


At an event organised in New Delhi by the Centre for Trade and Investment Law, he said rigorous legal thinking was more important than ever, according to a Ministry of Commerce and Industry news release.