- It was earlier known as Bangkok Agreement
- It is an initiative under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) for trade expansion through exchange of tariff concessions among developing country members of the Asia Pacific Region.
- The current membership of APTA consists of seven countries or Participating States (PSs), namely :
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- Bangladesh,
- China,
- India,
- Lao PDR,
- Republic of Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Mongolia (Latest member)
- Since this is a preferential trade agreement, the basket of items as well as extent of tariff concessions are enlarged during the trade negotiating rounds which are launched from time to time. Till date, three rounds of trade negotiations have taken place.
Note: APTA can be used as a keyword in your answers on India-SE Asian relations