ASEAN India Joint Committee Meet in Jakarta, Agreement under Fast Track Review

· The 15th ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee meeting was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 6–9 October 2026.

· The meeting was co-chaired by India’s Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Nitin Kumar Yadav, and Malaysia’s Deputy Secretary General (Trade), Ms. Mastura Ahmad Mustafa.

· Three sub-committees discussed Legal and Institutional Issues, National Treatment on Market Access, and Rules of Origin.

· The Joint Committee directed all sub-committees to expedite pending chapters and establish firm, time-bound deliverables.

· India and ASEAN reaffirmed their commitment to resolving outstanding policy issues, deepening economic integration and modernising AITIGA.

· The next Joint Committee meeting is scheduled for January 2027 in India to review progress and guide negotiations towards timely conclusion.

[ABS News Service/10.10.2026]

ASEAN hosted the 15th AITIGA Joint Committee and related meetings to review the progress and negotiations of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia, during 6^th to 9^th October 2026 along with other sub-committee meetings. The event was conducted in a hybrid format. The meeting was co-chaired by Nitin Kumar Yadav, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India, and Ms. Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade), Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, Malaysia. The meeting saw participation from delegates representing ASEAN countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Three out of eight Sub-Committees (SCs) under the AITIGA JC also held hybrid meetings on the sidelines of the 15th AITIGA JC, namely the Sub-Committee on Legal and Institutional Issues (SC-LII), the Sub-Committee on National Treatment on Market Access (SC-NTMA), and the Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin (SC-ROO). The meetings provided a valuable forum to deepen collaboration, enhance mutual understanding, and sustain constructive dialogue between both sides.

The Joint Committee (JC) directed all Sub-Committees to expedite pending chapters under the AITIGA Review, establishing firm, time-bound deliverables and urging close coordination to ensure measurable progress. Concluding on a productive note, India and ASEAN reaffirmed their shared commitment to a balanced, constructive, and forward-looking Agreement. Both sides underscored their shared commitment to resolve outstanding policy issues, deepen economic integration, and modernize the Agreement into a mutually beneficial framework that strengthens bilateral trade.

The next meeting of the AITIGA Joint Committee will be held in January 2027 in India in hybrid mode to review the progress made by the Sub-Committees and provide further guidance for the timely conclusion of the negotiations.