India, Thailand discuss ASEAN trade pact review

India and Thailand on Wednesday discussed the progress of the ongoing review of the ASEAN free trade agreement on goods.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Suphajee Suthumpun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand, also discussed ways to boost trade and investments between the two countries, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

"The two sides exchanged views on the progress of the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and emphasised the need for deeper bilateral engagement through the India-Thailand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) in a time-bound manner," the ministry said.


Thailand is a member of the ASEAN bloc. Other members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

The review is high on India's priority list to make it more user-friendly, simple and trade-facilitative for businesses. The pact was signed in 2009. ASEAN is an important trade partner of India with about a 10 per cent share in India's global trade.

In a separate statement, the ministry said National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (NICDC) participated in the first-ever INNOPROM India 2026, being held from 9-11 September at Bharat Mandapam.

The inaugural edition of the event in India provides an important platform for advancing the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, bringing together government representatives, manufacturers, technology companies, investors and industry organisations from both countries.

India and Russia have set a bilateral trade target of about Rs 9.45 lakh crore (USD 100 billion) by 2030, with the wider economic partnership increasingly focusing on manufacturing, investments, technology cooperation, logistics, localisation and industrial clusters, it said.

"Potential areas of India-Russia manufacturing cooperation include advanced engineering and machinery, railway and transport equipment, metals, energy and renewable energy, automobiles, aerospace & defence, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles and advanced manufacturing technologies," it added.