Union Minister Piyush Goyal addresses ASEAN-India Business Council Meet

On 28th August, 2020 Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal addressed the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Business Council Virtual Meet.He extended India’s friendship and partnership to ASEAN countries and expected to achieve a target of 300-billion-dollar trade through Business with them.

• He emphasized 3 C’s Cooperation, Collaboration & Commitment as guide for the strategic partnership between India and ASEAN countries. 

Key Points:

i.The Minister highlighted the Business Council meeting as a good forum to discuss concerns and best practices, share ideas and flag problems.   

ii.In the meeting it was also discussed that India and ASEAN countries should harness the full trade potential and use the forum as a medium to expand trade, address concerns of all members and businesses and resolve the differences. 

iii.The two sides also agreed to review the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement that was signed in 2009. 

India-ASEAN Trade:

i.In the Financial Year of 2020, India’s merchandise trade with the 10-member ASEAN countries touched $86.86 billion.

ii.ASEAN–India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) is a free trade area among the ten member states of the ASEAN and India.  The final agreement of AIFTA was signed in August, 2009 and came into effect from January, 2010.  

iii.The ten members of the ASEAN are Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos.

Recent Related News:

i.In order to boost business & economy, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerceand Industry (FICCI) and 5 bodies of Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan,the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) launched the India-Central Asia Business council in New Delhi.

ii.UK India Business Council (UKIBC) signed a MoU with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), to improve the business relationship between India(Maharashtra) and the United Kingdom(UK).

About ASEAN:
Secretary General – H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi 
Headquarters – Jakarta, Indonesia.