India’s Minister of State for Commerce, Jitin Prasada met with Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Liew Chin Tong in New Delhi.
India and Malaysia have agreed to accelerate the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) with a target to reach a substantial conclusion by 2025. This decision was reached during a bilateral meeting between India’s Minister of State for Commerce, Jitin Prasada, and Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Liew Chin Tong. The meeting, held in New Delhi, underscores the growing economic collaboration between the two nations as they seek to enhance market access, deepen trade partnerships, and explore cooperation in the semiconductor and service industries.
Signed in 2010, AITIGA was aimed at promoting trade between India and the ASEAN bloc, but concerns over rising imports and a trade imbalance in favour of ASEAN led India to push for a review. After prolonged discussions, ASEAN members agreed to reassess the pact in 2019. Malaysia, a key ASEAN economy and the chair of the group this year, plays an important role in driving this review forward.
Malaysia is India’s third-largest trading partner within ASEAN, with bilateral trade amounting to USD 20.02 billion in the 2023-24 period. In addition to trade negotiations, both sides discussed market access for goods, collaboration in the semiconductor sector, and service industry cooperation. The Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) under India’s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) was also on the agenda, reflecting Malaysia’s interest in facilitating smoother export processes.
ADMM-Plus Meeting on Counterterrorism
In another significant development in India-Malaysia ties, the two nations will co-chair the 14th meeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) Experts’ Working Group (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism. The event, scheduled to take place in New Delhi from March 19-20, 2025, will bring together delegations from ASEAN’s ten member nations—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand—along with eight dialogue partners, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, China, the United States, and Russia. Timor Leste and the ASEAN Secretariat will also be participating.
India will be co-chairing the EWG on Counter-Terrorism for the first time, marking a significant step in its regional security engagement. The meeting will focus on devising a comprehensive strategy to counter evolving threats of terrorism and extremism. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh is set to deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony on March 19.
This meeting marks the beginning of the 2024-2027 cycle for the EWG on Counter-Terrorism, which will see member states collaborate on counterterrorism strategies, exercises, and information-sharing. The discussions will aim to leverage the experiences of ASEAN defence forces and their dialogue partners to build a stronger, coordinated response against terrorism.
The ADMM-Plus platform facilitates practical defence cooperation across seven key areas: counterterrorism, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations, military medicine, humanitarian mine action, and cybersecurity. The EWGs established within ADMM-Plus are co-chaired by one ASEAN member state and one dialogue partner, operating on a three-year cycle. Their mandate includes setting objectives, formulating policy directions, and conducting biannual meetings along with exercises to evaluate progress.
Strengthening Cooperation
The economic and security discussions between India and Malaysia highlight the increasing depth of their partnership. While the trade agreement review aims to create a more balanced and beneficial economic relationship, the counterterrorism cooperation underscores a shared commitment to regional security.
These engagements also reflect India’s broader strategy of strengthening ties within ASEAN, both on the economic and security fronts. With Malaysia playing a central role as the ASEAN chair, its cooperation with India is expected to drive substantive progress in both trade negotiations and defence collaboration.
As both nations continue to build on their economic and security partnership, the coming years are expected to bring further opportunities for collaboration, not just within ASEAN but also at a broader Indo-Pacific level. The outcomes of these engagements will be closely watched as India and Malaysia work towards a more integrated and secure regional framework.
