Early end of trade deal review stressed as India, ASEAN summit to observe 2026 as maritime cooperation year

New Delhi: India and the Southeast Asian nations will observe 2026 as a year of maritime cooperation and will also hold a second naval exercise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he virtually addressed the ASEAN leaders, who assembled for the annual summits in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

Modi said that an early conclusion of the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITGA) could unleash the full economic potential of New Delhi’s relationship with the 11-nation bloc for the benefit of the peoples and further strengthen regional cooperation. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who hosted the ASEAN conclaves, said that the review of the 2009 trade deal had seen some “real progress” and the Southeast Asian nations would like to conclude the process by the end of this year.

The review of the AITGA started in 2023 after New Delhi complained that India’s exporters were facing higher tariff and varying levels of non-tariff barriers in the Southeast Asian nations. India’s steel and plastic industries complained of higher duties on exports to the ASEAN nations. Besides, the agricultural exports pointed out that the 2009 deal could not ensure a uniform food safety standards and certification process across the Southeast Asian region.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal earlier this year called the AITGA a “silly” agreement, alleging that some of the Southeast Asian nations were being used as conduits for China’s goods to reach the market in India, taking advantage of New Delhi’s trade deal with the ASEAN.

“We are companions in the Global South,” Modi told the ASEAN leaders from New Delhi. “We are not only commercial partners but also cultural partners. ASEAN is a cornerstone of India’s Act East Policy. India has always fully supported ASEAN centrality and ASEAN’s outlook in the Indo-Pacific.”

“Even in this era of uncertainties, India-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has continued to make steady progress. And this strong partnership of ours is emerging as a robust foundation for global stability and development,” said the prime minister.

He said that India had been standing firmly with its ASEAN friends in every disaster. He noted that cooperation between India and the Southeast Asians in the field of humanitarian assistance and disaster response, maritime security, and the blue economy was growing rapidly. “In view of this, we are declaring 2026 as "ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation,” said the prime minister.

He proposed establishment of a Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Nalanda University in India to develop regional expertise. The prime minister stated that terrorism was a serious challenge to global peace and security, and stressed the importance of unity in the fight against terrorism.

The India-ASEAN summit saw the leaders adopting a joint statement on sustainable tourism.