On September 12, 2020, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan participated in the online meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) under the Chairmanship of Vietnam.During the 27th ARF meeting, the Ministers exchanged views on International and regional issues.
i.MoS Muraleedharan presented India’s perspectives on Indo-Pacific Ocean’s initiative, threat of terrorism, maritime issues and Corona Pandemic.
ii.India will co-chair the ASEAN Regional forum on port securities and United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea(UNCLOS).
Adoption of Statements:
The ARF ministers adopted 3 statements during the meeting. They are
i.Enhancing cooperation to prevent and respond to outbreak of infectious diseases.
ii.Treating children who were recruited or associated with terrorist groups and
iii.Cooperation in the field of Security and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in context of international security.
India’s activities under ARF:
i.India takes part in various activities & initiatives of ARF such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, ICT & Disaster Relief.
ii.A list of ARF activities were approved during the meeting, under which India will co-chair workshops on International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) and on Implementing UNCLOS and other international instruments.
Recent Related News:
i.On 13th August 2020, Government of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on space cooperation with the Federal government of Republic of Nigeria at the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.
About Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):
2020 Chairmanship – Vietnam
Chairman – Nguyen Xuan Phuc
Secretariat – Jakarta, Indonesia
Membership – 10 States ― Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 1 Observer – Papua New Guinea.
