India, ASEAN trade to touch $50bn this year

CHANDIGARH - Bilateral trade between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is likely to touch $50 billion in 2010, the Indonesian Ambassador to India said here Tuesday.

Terming India as a more important trade partner than China for ASEAN and Indonesia, Andi M. Ghalib, Ambassador of Indonesia, said that the Trade in Goods Agreement would further boost bilateral trade between India and the ASEAN.

He said that having achieved a target of $45 billion in 2008-09, trade between India and the ASEAN would reach $50 billion this year.

Ghalib was speaking during an interactive session organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce at PHD House here where he interacted with the members of industry and business to explore trade potential in Punjab and Haryana.

He said that bilateral trade between India and Indonesia had crossed $10 billion in 2009 and was likely to go up further.

Ghalib stressed on the need for wider information dissemination, which includes sharing trade and investment potential of both the countries.