Review of ASEAN-India trade pact expected to improve market access for companies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Kao Kim Hourn and other dignitaries during the 21st ASEAN-India Summit, in Vientiane, in October 2024
| Photo Credit:
ANI
The ASEAN-India trade pact, which is currently under review, is expected to improve market access for Indian companies, removing implementation challenges.
Once concluded, the trade pact is also expected to create more opportunities and unlock more value to the economies in the region, India’s Ambassador to ASEAN Srinivas Gotru said on Thursday.
Speaking virtually from Jakarta at an Assocham event, organised in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Gotru said, “The ASEAN-India trade agreement is currently under review. From our side, it is the Department of Commerce leading these discussions. And the idea is to make this agreement into a more trade-facilitating, balanced, and responsive to current economic realities. This is an ongoing effort, and we hope that this will conclude at the earliest from our side.”
Gotru said India has been trying to impress upon the ASEAN partners to reach a conclusion. “And if that unlocks in this year, hopefully, then that will create more values and opportunities. And this will also improve market access, remove implementation challenges, and will better align our trade routes with the world,” said Gotru.
In 2024-25, the trade volume between India and ASEAN was approximately $123 billion, making ASEAN one of the country’s most important economic partners. ASEAN today is one of the most economically-vibrant regions in the world, attracting about $200 billion in annual FDI.
Digital for inclusion
The Digital Economic Framework Agreement is also likely to be unveiled later this year.
“The Digital Economic Framework Agreement that is currently under negotiation tries to create a more integrated digital market by facilitating cross-border data flows, interoperable digital payments, common digital standards, strengthening cybersecurity cooperation, and so on. And it offers businesses lower transaction costs, more clarity on the regulatory side, and an expanded access to the entire region,” the senior diplomat said.
India has set a benchmark for ensuring inclusive growth by focusing on technology adoption in a big way. And, this model can be emulated by the developing countries in the region, said Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary (States), Ministry of External Affairs.
The Indian government has put in place several policies such as ‘Make in India’ programme and PLI scheme to make India a major manufacturing economy and this has enabled the country to emerge as a key manufacturing hub for mobile phones, semiconductors and automobiles, among others.
“These conscious policy efforts have started bearing results, and that’s the reason why we are the fastest growing economy. On the other side, we have been setting examples for inclusive growth. And even as we are growing very fast, we want fruits of that development to reach the poorest of poor. So, we have been using technology for inclusive growth,” Kumar added.
Published on January 8, 2026
