India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday reviewed the entire gamut of their ties and ongoing fight against the corona pandemic besides the situation in the Indo-Pacific.
Giving details of the parleys, the ministry of external affairs said here the relations were reviewed under the aegis of the 24th ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting (SOM), a day ahead of the foreign ministerial dialogue that is expected to focus on further expansion of trade and strategic ties as well as cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Vietnam’s Bui Thanh Son and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi have already arrived in the national capital for the India-ASEAN talks on Thursday. India is hosting the foreign ministers of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations from June 16 to 17 to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation grouping. Secretary(East) Saurabh Kumar co-chaired it with Permanent Secretary of Singapore Albert Chua here. The Meeting saw the participation of Senior Officials from other ASEAN Member States.
The SOM reviewed the ASEAN-India strategic partnership and its future direction. As India and ASEAN celebrate the 30th anniversary of their Dialogue Relations, the SOM leaders made their assessment on the progress of cooperation under all three pillars of Partnership – political-security, economic and socio-cultural, the ministry statement said.
The Meeting also deliberated on the steps for further implementation of ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025). The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest including COVID-19 pandemic and post pandemic recovery. India welcomed the positive contributions and continued support of Singapore in strengthening ASEAN-India Relations as the Country Coordinator. Underlining the centrality of ASEAN in India's vision of the Indo-Pacific, Secretary(East)emphasized the implementation of ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) to strengthen the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership. The ASEAN side appreciated India's support to ASEAN and ASEAN-led architecture in the region.
The two sides also took stock of the calendar of activities to celebrate the year 2022 as ASEAN-India Friendship Year to mark the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India Partnership.
The strong historical and cultural ties between India and ASEAN continue to provide the solid foundation for ASEAN-India partnership as it enters its fourth decade.The ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.