VIENTIANE, Oct 11 — Malaysia has called for an early conclusion to the review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (Aitiga) during the 21st Asean-India Summit, here yesterday.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim emphasised the need to foster a conducive business environment and strengthen two-way trade and investment.

He further called on Asean and India to leverage digital transformation and related technologies to expand the existing marketplace, capitalising on India’s expertise in software development and digital innovation.

The Asean-India Summit, attended by regional leaders and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took place in Vientiane, Laos, as part of the 44th and 45th Asean Summits and Related Summits.

In a statement following the summit, the Asean Chair announced that leaders had agreed to designate 2025 as the Year of Asean-India Tourism, aiming to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges between Asean and India.

"The meeting further encouraged deeper cooperation in areas where both sides see great potential, such as trade and investment, education, human capital development, the digital economy, and Micro, Medium, and Small Enterprises (MSMEs), among others,” the statement read.

It noted that the summit concluded with the adoption of two key outcome documents: the Joint Statement on Strengthening the Asean-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region in the context of the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific with the support of India’s Act East Policy, and the Asean-India Joint Statement on Advancing Digital Transformation. — Bernama