Context:

Recently, India hosted the 8^th meeting of the India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) in New Delhi.

Key Highlights of the meeting

• The meeting discussed the potential areas of cooperation to drive mutual growth.
• Both countries discussed sectors like Shipping, Textile, Indian Pharmacopoeia, Power, Transport & Connectivity, ICT, 5G Telecom Stack and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME).
• India welcomed the creation of the Rupee-Kyat (currency of Myanmar) trade Settlement Mechanism and anticipated fostering increased bilateral commerce with Myanmar in local currencies following its implementation.
• The meeting reiterated the commitment to the completion of the review of the ASEAN- India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA).
• The Joint Trade Committee holds its session once a year alternatively in India and Myanmar. 

The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA)

• It was signed at the 7th ASEAN Economic Ministers-India Consultations in Bangkok in 2009. 
• It only applies to trade in physical goods and does not apply to trade in services.
• Recently, the 5th AITIGA Joint Committee and related meetings for review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) were held in ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia.

India-Myanmar relations:

• India is enhancing its cooperation with Myanmar in line with its ‘Act East’ and ‘Neighborhood First’ Policies. 
• India’s ‘Look East Policy’ launched in 1992, was upgraded to the ‘Act East Policy’ in 2014. The objective of the Act East Policy is to promote economic and cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.
• Neighbourhood First Policy came into being in 2008 to develop friendly and mutually beneficial relations with all its neighbours.
• Notably, Myanmar is the 7th largest trading partner of India within ASEAN. The total bilateral trade in 2023-24 was 1.75 USD Billion.
• India-Myanmar bilateral trade is conducted under the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme.
• A Border Trade Agreement between India and Myanmar was signed in January 1994 and became operational in April 1995.
• India stands at 11th position in terms of investment in Myanmar with an approved investment of US$ 773.038 million as of 31 January 2022.

Development Cooperation:

The projects in which India has been involved in Myanmar include the 

• Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project
• Trilateral Highway Project (Connects India’s Northeast with Myanmar and Thailand) 
• Rakhine State Development Programme 
• Border Area Development Programme
• Restoration and conservation of Ananda Temple in Bagan (completed in 2018)