Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday embarked on a three-day visit to Bangkok, Thailand.
He will attend the 7th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial Meeting, the 16th ASEAN India Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting and the 7th East Asia Economic Ministers Summit.
Goyal is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Japan, Singapore, China, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and Russia.
Trade and investment relations between India and ASEAN continue to show remarkable growth. India's bilateral trade jumped threefold from USD 21 billion in 2005-06 to USD 96.7 billion in 2018-19.
ASEAN countries together have emerged as the largest trading partner of India in 2018-19 (followed by the USA), with a share of 11.47 per cent in India's overall trade, while India was ASEAN's sixth-largest trading partner in 2018.
Engagement with ASEAN is at the core of India's 'Act East' policy. ASEAN is the gateway to the Indian Ocean region and as close partners, there is a convergence of views in India and ASEAN's outlook in the region.
Meanwhile, the East Asia Economic Ministers Summit meeting will discuss regional and global economic developments and ASEAN's outlook on the Indo-Pacific regions. Matters related to the promotion of trade and investment among the partner countries will also be discussed in the India ASEAN AEM and EAS-EMM meetings.