Modi reviews ASEAN trade deal with Malaysian PM, engages with Cuban leader
Rio de Janeiro: The review of the ASEAN-India FTA figured during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar bin Ibrahim on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.
The two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral relations, including in areas of trade and investment, defence, education, healthcare, tourism and people-to-people contacts, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement Sunday after the meeting.
Modi congratulated Malaysia for its successful chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia.
PM Modi welcomed Malaysia’s continued support for a strengthened ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including the early and successful completion of the review of the ASEAN-India FTA, the MEA said.
The FTA was signed in 2009 and implemented in January 2010.
In August 2023, both sides announced a complete review of the existing agreement in goods by 2025.
It is learnt that the proposed negotiations for the FTA are not moving forward due to certain differences between the two sides.
The review of the agreement is a long-standing demand of Indian industry and India is looking forward to an upgraded pact, which will address the current asymmetries in bilateral trade and will make trade more balanced and sustainable.
After the implementation of the agreement, India’s exports stood at only about USD 38-39 billion annually, while imports from the 10-nation ASEAN bloc have jumped to USD 86 billion, according to Indian officials.
India is asking for a review to eliminate barriers and misuse of the pact.
The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Recently, speaking at the India Global Forum session in London, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, “There was a point of time 15 years ago when we were more focused on doing FTAs with countries who were our competitors. So if I am doing an ASEAN agreement, it really is silly because (that is) opening up my market to my competitors, many of whom have now become the B team of China”.
“So effectively and indirectly, I have opened up my market for goods that find their way from China into India,” the commerce minister had said.
During the meeting, Modi also thanked Anwar for his strong condemnation of the recent Pahalgam terror attack and appreciated Malaysia’s support on issues of mutual concern. “The two leaders also discussed cooperation in the multilateral arena and regional security, the MEA said.
Separately, Prime Minister Modi met Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez Sunday and discussed ways to bolster bilateral ties across key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, traditional medicine and digital public infrastructure.
“In our talks, we covered a wide range of subjects. Economic relations between our nations have a lot of potential to grow in the coming times,” Modi posted on social media.
“Equally promising are sectors like technology, healthcare and energy. The growing acceptance of Ayurveda in Cuba is surely a great thing. We even discussed ways to strengthen disaster management apparatus,” he added.
The two leaders reviewed bilateral ties in the areas of economic cooperation, development partnership, fintech, capacity building, science and technology, disaster management and healthcare, the MEA said in a statement.
“Acknowledging India’s expertise in the digital domain, President Diaz-Canel expressed interest in India’s Digital Public Infrastructure and UPI. Prime Minister appreciated Cuba’s recognition of Indian pharmacopoeia, which will lead to access to Indian generic medicines,” it said.
The two leaders agreed to work on issues of concern to the Global South, including in the areas of health, pandemics and climate change. They appreciated the cooperation between the two countries in the multilateral arena, it added.
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