India looks to boost trade ties with ASEAN

ASEAN is one of the focal regions for India. The two sides shared many similarities in terms of culture and religion. The trade and investment ties between India and ASEAN have also grown over the past decade thanks to India's Look East Policy. Two-way trade rose to 110.4 billion USD in the 2021-2022 thanks to a number of key agreements signed between the two sides.

India and ASEAN signed the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation in 2003 at the second ASEAN – India Summit, which has created a premise for the two sides to negotiate and sign FTAs on goods, services and investment, including the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and the ASEAN-India trade agreements in investment and services.

Since trade and investment are priority areas of economic cooperation between ASEAN and India, AITIGA, which was signed in 2009, has continually been at the forefront of engagement.

Since AITIGA took effect in January 2010, trade between ASEAN and India has increased remarkably, with an increase of 23% in exports and 55% in imports over the past decade. Imports have increased particularly from Cambodia, Singapore, and Vietnam./.

VNA