ASEAN Ministers welcome recommendations of ASEAN-India Business Council

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and Union Minister Piyush Goyal have welcomed recommendations of ASEAN-India Business Council to further promote the potential of bilateral trades through utilisation of ASEAN-India FTA (free trade agreement).

Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Piyush Goyal met with the Economic Ministers of ten Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in Bangkok today.

They have also accepted the recommendations of the Council in some areas of mutual interest such as financial technology (FinTech), connectivity, start-ups, and innovation, empowerment of youth and women, and Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) development.

"The Ministers welcomed the recommendations of the ASEAN-India Business Council to further promote the potential of bilateral trades through the utilisation of ASEAN-India FTA as well as cooperation in some areas of mutual interest such as financial technology (FinTech), connectivity, start-ups, and innovation, empowerment of youth and women, and MSMEs development," an official statement said.

The Ministers also expressed their support for the Fourth ASEAN-India Business Summit and Business Excellence Award, which will be held in Mla in October 2019.

As per the statement, the Ministers noted that, based on preliminary ASEAN data, two-way merchandise trade between ASEAN and India grew by 9.8 per cent from USD 73.6 billion in 2017 to USD 80.8 billion in 2018.

The Ministers were also pleased to note the recovery of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

"The Ministers were pleased to note the ratification of the ASEAN-India Trade in Services Agreement by all parties in 2018. The Ministers also noted the on-going efforts for the ratification of the ASEAN-India Investment Agreement and looked forward to the full ratification by all parties as soon as possible. The Ministers agreed to initiate the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make the AIFTA more user-friendly, simple, and trade facilitative for businesses and to constitute a Joint Committee, as provided in Article 17 of the AITIGA, for this purpose," the statement read.

"The Ministers tasked officials to work on the details of the review and submit an update at the 17th AEM-India Consultations. 4. The Ministers commended the outcomes of the 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit held on 21-23 February 2019 in New Delhi, India," it added.

( With inputs from ANI )