Vientiane. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that India-ASEAN friendship is very important at a time when many parts of the world are facing conflict and tension. Addressing the 21st India-ASEAN Summit here, Modi said the ‘Act East Policy’ he announced 10 years ago has given new energy, direction and momentum to the historic relations between India and ASEAN countries in the last decade. .
The India-ASEAN summit is taking place at a time when the region is facing tensions between the Philippines and China over maritime issues in the South China Sea and the crisis in Myanmar, where ethnic groups are fighting military rule. Modi said that he believes that the 21st century, also known as the Asian century, is the century of India and the ASEAN countries.
He said, “India-ASEAN friendship, coordination, dialogue and cooperation is very important at a time when many parts of the world are facing conflict and tension.” Prime Minister Modi said that India and ASEAN countries are neighbors and partners in the ‘Global South’.
He said, “We are a peace-loving country and respect each other’s national integrity and sovereignty and are committed to the bright future of the youth of the region.” Modi said that keeping in mind the centrality of ASEAN, India had launched the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative in 2019.
He said, “Last year, maritime exercises were started for regional security and stability.” He said that India’s trade with ASEAN countries has doubled in the last decade to more than $130 billion. The Prime Minister said, “India has direct flights from seven ASEAN countries and direct flights to Brunei will start soon.” Modi said that India has started fintech connectivity with Singapore. He said, “This success is visible in other countries also.” The Prime Minister said that people-centric efforts are the foundation of the development partnership between India and ASEAN. Modi said that more than 300 students from the ASEAN region have received scholarships from Nalanda University.
He said that this partnership has also been effective in preserving the common heritage of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Modi said, “Be it the Covid pandemic or natural disasters, we have helped each other by fulfilling our humanitarian responsibilities.” He said India and ASEAN have set up Science and Technology Fund, Digital Fund and Green Fund for cooperation in various fields and New Delhi has contributed more than $300 million to these initiatives.
Modi said, “As a result, today our cooperation has extended from water to space sectors and our partnership has become more comprehensive in the last decade.” Later, Modi said in a post on ‘X’ that the India-ASEAN summit was fruitful. He said, “We discussed how to further strengthen the overall strategic partnership between India and ASEAN. “We look forward to deepening trade ties, cultural ties and cooperation in technology, connectivity and other such areas.” Modi is in Laos on a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits and deepen relations with the countries of these groupings.