CLMV countries

The CLMV countries include four countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. This association comprises the newest and lowest income countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc. The association operates through the CLMV Economic Ministers’ Meetings and other ways.

India invites CLMV countries to join ISA

• The Inaugural Session of the 6th India – CLMV Business Conclave 2020: Building Bridges for Constructive Development was recently held.
• This virtual conclave was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) along with the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
• During the conclave, India has invited the CLMV countries to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Resilient Supply Chain Initiative by India.
• India provided medical supplies to the region, during the Covid-19 crisis. India also announced its willingness to share the vaccine when available.
• A Project Development Fund for the CLMV region was set up with a corpus of Rs. 500 crores, to incentivize Indian companies to set up manufacturing facilities in the region.
• India has also extended a line of credit for the Mekong region. The CLMV countries are also part of this region.
• An exhibition of 15 days showcasing the products by the Indian and CLMV countries enterprises is also ongoing. The products being showcased are from sectors like agriculture, IT, education, manufacturing, power, transport, healthcare, clean energy, etc.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

ISA is an alliance of 121 countries working with an aim of reducing dependency on fossil fuels as well as efficient consumption of solar energy. The association was founded in January 2016 by PM Modi and French President François Hollande. It is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana.

Resilient Supply Chain Initiative

In a joint virtual conference of India, Japan, and Australia on September 1, 2020, all the three countries proposed a Resilient Supply Chain Initiative with an aim to increase the flexibility of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region. The initiative will be addressing the weaknesses of the present supply chains.