The 19th ASEAN-India Summit held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was attended by the Vice President of India. This event underlined the importance of ASEAN for India and highlighted key areas of cooperation.
Highlights of the Meeting
During the meeting, India praised the deep cultural, economic, and civilizational ties that have been shared with South East Asia from time immemorial. The India-ASEAN relationship was identified as the central pillar of India’s ACT-EAST policy. Support to ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific was also affirmed.
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
A joint statement announced the elevation of the existing strategic partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, enhancing India-ASEAN cooperation in areas like maritime activities, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, digital economy, environment, science & technology, and tourism, among others.
Promoting Peace and Security
The emphasis was laid on the importance of promoting peace, stability, maritime safety, and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region. The review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) was proposed to make it more user-friendly and trade-facilitative.
Deepening Dialogue and Coordination
Both sides reaffirmed the necessity of deepening dialogue and coordination through ASEAN-led mechanisms including the ASEAN-India Summit, the East Asia Summit, and more.
About ASEAN
ASEAN, a regional grouping established in 1967, promotes economic, political, and security cooperation. It comprises ten Southeast Asian states including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
ASEAN-India Relations
India and ASEAN have had dialogue relations since 1992, with the basis of these ties being trade and shared historical-cultural roots.
Areas of Cooperation
Major areas of cooperation include economic activities, political cooperation, financial assistance, connectivity, socio-cultural cooperation, and defense cooperation.
Significance of ASEAN for India
ASEAN nations are significant for India from both economic and security aspects. Connectivity with these countries allows India to improve its presence in the region, counter China’s influence, promote economic growth, and ensure maritime security which is crucial for trade.
Enhancing Trade and Investment Relations
While India’s trade with ASEAN has grown faster than trade with the world, non-tariff barriers in ASEAN limit its export potential. Current engagement in value chains isn’t substantial. Hence, there is a need for ASEAN and India to leverage each other for building resilient supply chains. Improved skilling, logistic services, and transportation infrastructure would be critical to exploit this opportunity.
UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Questions
The article concludes with a section covering previous year questions from the UPSC Civil Services examination related to the topic of India-ASEAN relations.
Last Modified: February 18, 2024