At a scheduled India-Asean meeting held in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, the Malaysian co-chair put out a strongly worded message in response to the Indian minister’s comments, ET has learnt. The occasion was Asean-India trade in goods agreement review.
The Asean-India Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2009, is currently undergoing a review to address trade imbalances and other concerns. India seeks a more balanced and sustainable trade relationship with Asean.
Several officials from SE Asian states, including those who enjoy close partnership with India, speaking on the condition of anonymity told ET that the public comments were surprising as India’s direct trade with China is high and the Asean states cannot be blamed for that.
The officials expressed surprise as India as well as the Asean have been making concerted efforts over the last few years to expand ties across sectors. SE Asia’s biggest state Indonesia has been proactive in blunting Pakistan’s narrative in the OIC. On Friday, a senior MEA official held an informal meeting with the Asean Secretariat at Jakarta to discuss steps to further ties.
The meeting exchanged views on the progress of Asean-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.Last Thursday Goyal had slammed Asean countries as the “B-team of China” and dubbed trade deals with them as “silly”. This took the entire SE Asia by surprise on the 30th anniversary of India becoming a full dialogue partner of Asean in 2025.
