On November 12, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-chaired the virtual 17th ASEAN-India Summit 2020 along with Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of Vietnam, the current Chair of (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The Summit saw the participation of all ten ASEAN Member States.
- The focus of the summit was to discuss regional and international issues of common interest and concern, including South China Sea and terrorism.
- During the summit India announced a contribution of US$ 1 million to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund.
Key Points:
–PM Narendra Modi reiterated India’s offer of US$ 1 billion Line of Credit (LoC) to support ASEAN connectivity.
–The ASEAN leaders acknowledged India’s contribution towards promoting peace and stability in the region
–The Leaders also welcomed the adoption of the new ASEAN-India Plan of Action for 2021-2025.
–Both sides noted the importance of promoting a rules-based order including through upholding adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea).
–Both sides ensured freedom of navigation and overflight.
–India and ASEAN to expand trade despite RCEP walkout
India and ASEAN countries agreed to explore ways to increase trade despite India’s exit from the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement as it does not address the outstanding issues and concerns of India.
- PM Modi had also called for an early review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITGA).
- The RCEP free trade agreement is expected to be signed on November 15, 2020 between China, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and ten ASEAN Nations.
- Notably, ASEAN is India’s fourth largest trading partner with about $86.9 Bn in trade between India and the ten ASEAN nations.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 13, 2020, The Second Edition of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-India Track 1.5 Dialogue took place virtually. The summit was organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the External Affairs Ministry (EAM).
ii.On September 12, 2020, the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting took place virtually, it was co-chaired by Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) along with Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
About ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations):
Members – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Chair – Vietnam (2020)
Headquarters – Jakarta, Indonesia
