Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ meeting
Recently the External Affairs Minister of India hosted the Foreign Ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
This meeting was organized on the occasion of 30 years of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
Myanmar was not invited to the meeting following a consensus among ASEAN countries following the military transition in Myanmar last year.
They agreed that engagement with Myanmar should be at a non-political and non-military level.
Dialogue-based relations between ASEAN and India began in 1992 with the establishment of a regional partnership.
India-ASEAN Relations:
- ASEAN is India’s third largest engineering export market.
- Engineering goods account for 40% of India’s total exports to ASEAN.
- ASEAN is the fifth largest trading partner of India.
Significance of ASEAN:
- ASEAN is central to India’s Act East policy.
- ASEAN is at the heart of India’s energy security.
- The strategic location of ASEAN is important for India.
- ASEAN is the centrepiece of India’s comprehensive Indo-Pacific policy.
- The total bilateral trade of ASEAN and India reached US$ 78.90 billion in the year 2020-21.
- India’s trade deficit with ASEAN stands at US$ 15.93 billion.
- ASEAN is an intergovernmental organization. It was established in the year 1967. Its main objective is to promote economic development and regional stability.
Source – The Hindu
