Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India-ASEAN friendship is important especially when parts of the world are facing conflicts and tensions. He also said that the 21st century, also called the Asian century, is the century of India and ASEAN. PM Modi also announced 10-point action plan to strengthen ties in the region.
Addressing the 21st India-ASEAN Summit IN Laos, Modi also said "We are peace-loving nations and respect each other’s national integrity and sovereignty, and are committed to the bright future of the youth of the region".
"India-ASEAN friendship, coordination dialogue and cooperation is very important at a time when several parts of the world are facing conflicts and tensions," he added.
PM Modi had arrived in Laos on a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits to further deepen engagement with countries in the groupings.
Keeoing with the theme of 'Enhancing Connvectivity and Resilience', PM Modi announced a 10-point plan to deepen India's friendship with ASEAN.
Marking a decade of India's Act East Policy, PM Modi joined the ASEAN leaders to review the progress in the last 10 years ago and chart the future course of cooperation. Emphasising the vibrancy of India’s Act East Policy, PM noted that in the last ten years India-ASEAN trade had doubled to over USD 130 billion.
"ASEAN is today one of India’s largest trade and investment partners; direct flight connectivity established with seven ASEAN countries; promising beginning made with Fin-tech collaboration with the region; and significant progress made in restoration of shared cultural heritage in five ASEAN countries," a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs on PM Modi's remarks noted.
PM Modi further underscored the need to complete the ASEAN-India FTA (AITIGA) review in a time bound manner to achieve greater economic potential that would benfit the India-ASEAN community.
The India-ASEAN Summit came at a time when the region is experiencing tensions caused by the maritime issues betweenn the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. It also came amid the crisis in Myanmar, where ethnic groups are battling the military regime.
PM Modi stressed that India and the ASEAN nations were not just neighbours, but partners in the Global South, and belonged to a region that was witnessing rapid growth. He further spoke about India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative in 2019, which was started keeping in mind ASEAN centrality. He said it complemented the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific. "Last year, maritime exercises were started for regional security and stability," Modi said.
"India has direct flights to seven ASEAN countries and direct flights to Brunei will start soon," the prime minister said.
He also spoke about India launching Fintech connectivity with Singapore, the first nation in the ASEAN region. "This success was being replicated in other nations as well," he said.
The PM stated that a people-centric approach was the foundation of the development partnership between India and ASEAN. He added that over 300 students from the ASEAN region received scholarships from Nalanda University.
"The partnership has also worked to protect the shared inheritance and heritage of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.Whether it is the Covid pandemic or natural disasters, we have helped each other fulfil our humanitarian responsibilities,” Modi said.
'Looking Forward To Deepening Ties': PM Modi
Later, Modi said in a post on X that the India-ASEAN Summit was productive. "We discussed how to further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and ASEAN. We look forward to deepening trade ties, cultural linkages and cooperation in technology, connectivity and other such sectors," he said.