Vientiane (Laos): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN comprehensive partnership and asserted that ties with the regional grouping were critical to guiding Asia's future. Addressing the 21st India-ASEAN Summit, PM Modi noted that India-ASEAN trade had doubled to over $130 billion in the past decade and announced a review of the trade-in goods agreement to harness the greater economic potential of the partnership.
"I believe that the 21st century – the Asian century – is the century of India and ASEAN nations," the Prime Minister said while addressing the leaders of the ASEAN nations that include Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Singapore.
The Prime Minister said India was commemorating the 10th anniversary of its Act East Policy, which has given new energy, direction and momentum to the historic relationship between India and the ASEAN nations. "The India-ASEAN Summit was a productive one. 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 in a post on X after the summit.
PM Modi announces 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN ties
The 10-point plan to further strengthen the India-ASEAN partnership includes celebrating the year 2025 as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism, doubling the number of scholarships at Nalanda University and providing new grants for ASEAN students at Agricultural Universities in India.
- Celebrating the year 2025 as ASEAN-India Year of Tourism for which India will make available USD 5 million towards joint activities.
- To celebrate a decade of the Act East Policy through several people-centric activities, including a youth summit, a start-up festival, a hackathon, a music festival, building on an ASEAN-India network of think tanks and the Delhi Dialogue.
- To organise an ASEAN-India women scientists conclave under the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund.
- Doubling the number of scholarships at Nalanda University and a provision of new scholarships for ASEAN students at the Agricultural Universities in India.
- Review of the ASEAN-India Trade and Goods Agreement by 2025.
- Enhancing disaster resilience for which India would contribute an additional USD 5 million.
- Initiate a new health minister's track towards building health resilience.
- Initiate a regular mechanism of ASEAN-India cyber policy dialogue towards strengthening digital and cyber resilience.
- Organising a workshop on green hydrogen.
- Invite all ASEAN leaders to join the 'Plant a Tree for Mother' campaign towards building climate resilience.
PM Modi's Laos visit
It is worth mentioning that PM Modi arrived in Laos on a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits and further deepen engagement with countries in the groupings. According to a resolution adopted at the conference, it urged PM Modi to intensify efforts else the world will be pushed into a third world war, which can possibly consume thousands of lives across nations and cause irreversible damage to economies and the environment.
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