Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday highlighted the importance of building a rules-based-post-Covid world order, adding that the progress of a free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all. Addressing the annual ASEAN-India Summit in Indonesia’s Jakarta, the Prime Minister described the 10-nation bloc as the epicentre of growth as the region plays a crucial role in global development. The grouping plays a prominent place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative and that New Delhi is committed to working "shoulder to shoulder" with it, he added.
"The 21st century is Asia's century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-COVID world order and efforts by all for human welfare," the prime minister, co-chairing the summit, said, as per a PTI report.
"The progress of free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all," he added.
In his address, Modi assured that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy and it fully supports ASEAN centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
"Our history and geography connect India and ASEAN. Along with shared values, regional unity, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world also binds us together," the PM said at the summit, which was the first between the two sides since the elevation of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year.
The 10-nation ASEAN group — including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia — is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region.
India, and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.