Hanoi, Aug. 29 -- Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan has underscored India's importance to Southeast Asia, reaffirming wish for an early conclusion to negotiations on reviewing and upgrading the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) .

Addressing the special ASEAN Economic Ministers' meeting on the AITIGA review on August 28, Deputy Minister Tan, who led a Vietnamese delegation comprising representatives from the ministries of industry and trade, finance, and science and technology, stressed that the revised deal would bolster economic ties and facilitate trade and business between the two sides.

The virtual meeting was chaired by Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafru...