What Is PM Modi's 10-Point Plan To Strengthen ASEAN-India Comprehensive Partnership? Explained

Prime Minister Modi's 10-point plan aims to strengthen India-ASEAN ties, focusing on tourism, scholarships, people-centric activities, disaster resilience and health collaboration.

ASEAN nations include Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Singapore (Image: PTI)

Source : PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a 2-day visit to Vientiane's Laos, has announced a 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN comprehensive partnership. The Prime Minister asserted that ties with the regional grouping were critical to guiding Asia's future, and underled that dialogue and cooperation between India and ASEAN are of utmost importance at a time of conflict and tension in many parts of the world.

Announcing a 10-point plan at the 21st India-ASEAN Summit, PM Modi stressed that he believes that the 21st century is the ‘Asian Century’-- a century for India and ASEAN countries, and noted that India-ASEAN trade had doubled to over USD 130 billion in the past decade.

ASEAN nations include Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Singapore.

What Is PM Modi's 10-Point Plan To Strengthen ASEAN-India Comprehensive Partnership?

1. The 10-point plan is focused on strengthening the India-ASEAN partnership and proposes to celebrate the year 2025 as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism, for which India will make available USD 5 million towards joint activities.
2. It also includes doubling the number of scholarships at Nalanda University and providing new grants for ASEAN students at Agricultural Universities in India.
3. The plan proposed a celebration of the decade of Act East Policy through several people-centric activities including a youth summit, start-up festival, hackathon, music festival, ASEAN-India Network of Think-Tanks and Delhi Dialogue.
4. It also proposed to organise an ASEAN-India women scientists conclave under the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund.
5. Under the plan, India would make available USD 5 million for enhancing disaster resilience.
6. The plan proposes to initiate a new Health Ministers’ track towards building Health Resilience.
7. It also proposes the review of the ASEAN-India Trade and Goods Agreement by 2025.
8. Under the plan, a regular mechanism of the ASEAN-India Cyber Policy Dialogue will be initiated to strengthen digital and cyber resilience
9. It also proposes to organise a workshop on Green Hydrogen.
10. PM Modi also invited all ASEAN leaders to join the ‘Plant a Tree for Mother’ campaign towards building climate resilience.