AEM’S CHAIR OPENING REMARKS : 22nd AEM – INDIA CONSULTATION
26 SEPTEMBER 2025
10:40 am – 12:10 pm (GMT +8)
Ballroom, Level 3
Malaysia International Trade and
Exhibition Centre (MITEC), Kuala Lumpur
CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS (5-6 minutes)
Your Excellency Jitin Prasada,
Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry and Electronics & Information Technology, India,
Your Excellencies
Ladies and gentlemen.
A Very Good Morning.
I would like to welcome Your Excellency Mr. Jitin Prasada and delegation to the 22nd AEM–India Consultation. We meet today as partners bound by a longstanding relationship – one that spans not just years but decades of cooperation and trust. In 2022, we proudly celebrated the 30th anniversary of ASEAN–India relations, marking three (3) decades of friendship, shared progress, and ever-deepening ties. Over these years, our partnership has evolved from a sectoral dialogue in the early 1990s into a full dialogue partnership and, most recently, a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Your Excellency Co-Chair dan AEM Colleagues,
The timing of our meeting could not be more significant. The global trade landscape is shifting rapidly, presenting us with both opportunities and challenges. In the midst of this strategic rebalancing, closer economic integration between ASEAN and India can serve as a stable anchor of growth and a vital source of resilience amid global uncertainties. Indeed, we face common challenges, from safeguarding supply chain resilience and food security to navigating technological disruptions. By working together, we can transform these challenges into shared opportunities for sustainable and inclusive growth.
I am pleased to note that ASEAN–India trade and investment ties have grown from strength to strength. Our two-way merchandise trade has reached record highs in recent years, surpassing the USD 100 billion milestone annually. In fact, bilateral trade between ASEAN and India hit around USD 106.93 billion in 2024, a significant difference, compared to our total trade in 2015 of USD 60.17 billion.
A key pillar of our economic relations has been the ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) which we signed in 2009 and brought into force in 2010. This agreement laid the foundation for the significant growth in trade that we have witnessed. However, a decade on, the world has changed, and so must our agreement. The ongoing Review of AITIGA is a strategic opportunity to modernise and upgrade our economic partnership for the realities of today and tomorrow. We recall that our Leaders have mandated us to expedite the review of AITIGA to be substantially concluded in 2025. In line with that target, ASEAN sees the Review exercise as a chance to incorporate lessons learned over the past 13 years and to upgrade our agreement with provisions that address current trade practices. It also means aligning the AITIGA with initiatives such as ASEAN’s economic integration efforts and India’s “Act East” policy, so that our trade agreement complements broader regional supply chain connectivity. I look forward to our discourse on the AITIGA Review progress today.
As we deliberate today, let us keep in mind the broader strategic imperative of a stronger ASEAN–India economic partnership that contributes not only to our own prosperity, but also to regional stability and development. A closer integration between us sends a message to the world that our region believes in openness, fairness, and mutual benefit in trade.
I look forward to productive discussions that will bring us closer to our shared goals, as friends and partners, towards a more prosperous future for all our nations.
I now pass the floor to His Excellency Jitin, India Co-Chair.
[After opening remarks by India Co-Chair]
[Chair to invite AEM for official ASEAN family photo]
Thank you, Your Excellency Jitin.
I would now like to invite all Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN for the official photo session.
[After photo session, Emcee will request media to exit the hall (3 minutes)]
--BERNAMA