KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — Malaysia will lead the coordination between Asean countries and India to improve aspects of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two parties, said Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
A delegation from Malaysia will visit New Delhi in November to attend an FTA-related consultation session on behalf of Asean with India, given that Malaysia will assume the position of Asean chair in 2025.
"We target next year when as chair of Asean we will not only be able to finalise the revision of the FTA between India and Asean which is already in place, but also to improve it.
"Malaysia is given this responsibility to coordinate," he told Bernama at the sideline of the 2024 Umno General Assembly today.
Tengku Zafrul was commenting on the success of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's official visit to India recently, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hopes the review of the FTA between Asean and India would be completed within the specified period.
India and Asean have held several rounds of negotiations to make changes to the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement to make the agreement more trade-friendly and beneficial for businesses across the region.
The negotiations began in May 2023.
— Bernama
