February 10, 2026 06:23 pm (IST)
Follow us:
India 'concerned' over recent ASEAN talks
New Delhi, Sept 3 (IBNS): India is concerned over the recent nature of trade negotiations with other ASEAN countries and hopes that its services-intensive interests are given regard at par with manufacturing-driven rivals such as China, Indian Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said Wednesday.
Kher said recent talks such as those for the proposed free trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members have not accorded due regard for India’s domestic constraints such as the development of its lumbering manufacturing sector.
“We must move together and ensure that there are no disparate movements. India’s powerful services sector can only add to the manufacturing advantage of other regional countries and increase Asia’s composite competitiveness,” Kher said.
New Delhi is in the process of rallying support for its interests and has received assurances from a ‘fair number’ of member nations, the commerce secretary told IBNS on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the government here.
But differences aside, India will soon sign the ASEAN pacts on services and investments as part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that were supposed to be signed last week in Myanmar, Kher said.
(Reporting by Divyanshu Dutta Roy)
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
White House clarifies India–US trade deal after Trump’s ‘zero tariff’ claim sparks buzz
Tue, Feb 10 2026
Deepinder Goyal exit shock fades as Zomato parent Eternal rallies 6% to multi-month high
Tue, Feb 10 2026
India steals the spotlight at BIOFACH 2026 as ‘Country Of The Year'
Tue, Feb 10 2026
Street can’t ignore this stock! Sansera Engineering rockets 12% after Q3 numbers drop
Tue, Feb 10 2026
India must push for energy independence amid global uncertainty: Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal
Mon, Feb 09 2026
JK Tyre stock rallies on robust Q3 results, margins expand sharply
Mon, Feb 09 2026