India is working with its ASEAN partners to review and modernise the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), while negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Australia are also advancing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

The update came during a special briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Officials said the review of the ASEAN trade pact aims to align the agreement with present-day economic realities and facilitate greater trade liberalisation among participating countries.

India Pushes For Modernisation Of ASEAN Trade Pact

Speaking at the briefing, MEA Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon said the review of AITIGA is being undertaken collectively by all ASEAN member states, making it a multilateral negotiation process that requires consensus among all participating countries.

Tandon noted that India has consistently engaged with its ASEAN partners on the need to revisit the agreement, which was negotiated years ago and may no longer adequately reflect the current structure of the economies in India and Southeast Asia.

“It’s a multilateral agreement, so it requires all ASEAN countries together. We of course discussed with all our ASEAN partners about the importance of upgrading, reviewing the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, which is a very old agreement and probably does not reflect the structures of the economies either in India or in ASEAN,” he said.

According to Tandon, the existing agreement provides varying levels of tariff concessions among participating nations. The ongoing review seeks to create a framework that allows for greater liberalisation of trade while addressing the interests of all stakeholders.

Negotiations Require Consensus Among ASEAN Members

Emphasising the complexity of the exercise, Tandon said the review process involves negotiations with all ten ASEAN member countries simultaneously, making discussions particularly intricate.

“The review process will try to bring about greater liberalisation on both sides. But mind you, this is a multilateral agreement. So it will be everyone together; we do have continuous conversations with all the significant economies in the ASEAN region, because naturally the negotiations with them will be critical in getting the review process through,” he said.

He added that India is simultaneously working to strengthen bilateral economic ties with individual ASEAN countries, describing the effort as an ongoing process alongside the broader regional negotiations.

Tandon, however, refrained from sharing further details, noting that negotiations involving multiple countries remain sensitive and require coordinated discussions among all parties.

Australia CECA Talks Moving Forward

Addressing questions on economic engagement with Australia, Joint Secretary (Oceania) Vishwesh Negi said both countries are continuing discussions to conclude a balanced Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.

Negi recalled that India and Australia signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in 2022 and said efforts are now focused on expanding that framework into a broader economic partnership.

“As you all are aware, in 2022, India and Australia had signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Now the effort on the two sides is to finalise a balanced, comprehensive economic cooperation agreement. This is being finalised and negotiated by the Ministry of Commerce,” he said.

He added that negotiating teams from both countries remain closely engaged and that additional rounds of talks between chief negotiators are expected soon. “We are expecting a balanced document to be adopted on both sides, and our teams are closely engaged. We are working with the Ministry of Commerce on that. So the further rounds of negotiations between our chief negotiators are happening soon,” Negi said.

The comments come ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s three-nation tour, during which he will visit Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. The Indonesia leg is expected to focus on reviewing bilateral ties, while Modi will participate in the third India-Australia Annual Summit in Australia. In New Zealand, he will become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country in four decades.

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