19th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting 2022

The Ministers also took note of the recommendations made by ASEAN India Business Council (AIBC) to enhance the ASEAN India economic partnership and the activities undertaken by AIBC in 2022.

Table of Contents

19^th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: International Relations- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting 2022 in News

Recently, Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry along with H.E. Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce, Kingdom of Cambodia co-chaired the 19th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ meeting 2022.

19^th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting

19^th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting was held on 16^thSeptember 2022 in Siem Reap City, Cambodia.
The Economic Ministers or their representatives from all the 10 ASEAN countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended the 19th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting.

Key Outcomes of ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meet 2022

Bilateral Trade: The members highlighted that he two-way trade between ASEAN and India reached USD 91.5 billion in 2021 increasing by 39.2 per cent year-on-year.
- The Ministers also took note of the recommendations made by ASEAN India Business Council (AIBC) to enhance the ASEAN India economic partnership and the activities undertaken by AIBC in 2022.
Post Covid-19 Recovery: The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to take collective actions to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic and work towards a sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery.
Supply Chain Strengthening: The Ministers welcomed ASEAN and India to forge collective actions in securing a robust supply chain connectivity to maintain the flow of essential goods and services through-
- Launching of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Upgrade Negotiations,
- Mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination, vaccines production, public health surveillance, and medical technologies in moving forward with the post-pandemic recovery responses and facing future health crises.
Mutual Support in WTO: The Ministers welcomed the successful outcomes of the Twelfth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held on 12-17 June 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland.
- They also reiterated their support for a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable, and transparent multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO.
Strengthening AITIGA: Ministers endorsed the Scope of the Review of the AITIGA to make it more user-friendly, simple, and trade facilitative for businesses, as well as responsive to the current global and regional challenges including supply chain disruptions.
- The Ministers also activated the AITIGA Joint Committee to undertake the review of AITIGA expeditiously.

INDIA-ASEAN Relations

After independence India did not have good relations with ASEAN because of ideological difference with ASEAN which was under the US camp during the Cold War. After the end of Cold War, India – ASEAN relations have evolved from just economic ties to strategic heights owing to common threats and aspirations.

1996- India became a member of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for security dialogue in Asia in which members can discuss current regional security issues and develop cooperative measures to enhance peace and security in the region.
2002- India and ASEAN begin to hold annual summit level meetings.
2009- India- ASEAN Free trade Agreement in Goods was concluded.
2012- India – ASEAN Strategic Partnership was concluded
2014- India – ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Services and Investment was signed with an aim to facilitate movement of manpower and investments between India and ASEAN.
2018- India ASEAN celebrated 25 years of their relationship by holding a commemorative Summit. Leaders of all ten ASEAN countries were invited as Chief Guests for the Republic Day parade on January 26,2018.

India-ASEAN Economic Cooperation

ASEAN is India’s fourth largest trading partner.
The ASEAN-India Free Trade Area has been completed.
ASEAN India-Business Council (AIBC) was set up in 2003 to bring key private sector players from India and the ASEAN countries on a single platform.

Financial assistance has been provided to ASEAN countries from the following Funds:
- ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund
- ASEAN-India S&T Development Fund
- ASEAN-India Green Fund
Delhi Declaration identifies cooperation in the Maritime Domain.
Delhi Dialogue:Annual dialogue for discussing politico-security and economic issues between ASEAN and India.
ASEAN-India Centre (AIC):To undertake policy research, advocacy and networking activities with organizations and think-tanks in India and ASEAN.
Political Security Cooperation:India places ASEAN at the centre of its Indo-Pacific vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region.