ASEAN and Indian senior government officials and experts are meeting inNew Delhi, India at their fifth dialogue to discuss visions ofboth sides’ partnership and prosperity.
Opened on February 19,the dialogue sees talks on India-ASEAN security cooperation,non-traditional security challenges, like food security, watermanagement and pandemics, and the future of global energy market withthe role of new and renewable energy in sustainable development.
Theparticipants also touch on cooperation between Cambodia, Laos,Myanmar and Vietnam and North-east India and how to expand networksthrough land, sea and air connectivity.
Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh was among the delegates to the two-day event.
Addressingthe opening, Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid saidthe dialogue creates a forum for government and business representativesto discuss political, economic and security issues of India andASEAN of mutual concern.
The topic of the dialogue underscoresIndia and ASEAN’s desire to promote their strategic partnership forpeace, progress and prosperity, he said.
Accordingto the Indian Minister, India and ASEAN population make upone-fourth of the world’s total and their combined GDP being 3.8trillion USD.
Two-way trade reached 70 billion USDahead of schedule last year and the figure will be targeted at 100billion USD by 2015.
Both sides have jointly settlednon-traditional challenges and safeguarded security-politicalenvironment. India has actively participated in ASEAN forums andconstantly backed ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture, headded.
He also underlined India-ASEAN cooperation insmashing international terrorism, trans-national organised crimes,money laundering, drug trafficking and cyber security.
For his part, ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh emphasised India’s “Look East” policy that has been implementing since 1991 to enhanceits relations with ASEAN members.
Minh said: “Overthe past two decades, ASEAN has engaged India in a relationshipwhich had grown rapidly to a full dialogue partnership in 1995, furtherstrengthened with the convening of annual summits since 2002 and mostrecently, last year, elevated to strategic partnership.
“From a relationship which mainly emphasised economic cooperation, theASEAN-India partnership has developed into one of ASEAN’s mostcomprehensive, dynamic and fast-growing partnerships spanning across awhole spectrum of political-security, economic, social-cultural anddevelopment collaboration,” he noted.
He alsosuggested both ASEAN and Indian officials undertake a mid-term review ofthe implementation of this Plan of Action and map out the course ofactions and possible joint activities from now until 2015.-VNA
Opened on February 19,the dialogue sees talks on India-ASEAN security cooperation,non-traditional security challenges, like food security, watermanagement and pandemics, and the future of global energy market withthe role of new and renewable energy in sustainable development.
Theparticipants also touch on cooperation between Cambodia, Laos,Myanmar and Vietnam and North-east India and how to expand networksthrough land, sea and air connectivity.
Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh was among the delegates to the two-day event.
Addressingthe opening, Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid saidthe dialogue creates a forum for government and business representativesto discuss political, economic and security issues of India andASEAN of mutual concern.
The topic of the dialogue underscoresIndia and ASEAN’s desire to promote their strategic partnership forpeace, progress and prosperity, he said.
Accordingto the Indian Minister, India and ASEAN population make upone-fourth of the world’s total and their combined GDP being 3.8trillion USD.
Two-way trade reached 70 billion USDahead of schedule last year and the figure will be targeted at 100billion USD by 2015.
Both sides have jointly settlednon-traditional challenges and safeguarded security-politicalenvironment. India has actively participated in ASEAN forums andconstantly backed ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture, headded.
He also underlined India-ASEAN cooperation insmashing international terrorism, trans-national organised crimes,money laundering, drug trafficking and cyber security.
For his part, ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh emphasised India’s “Look East” policy that has been implementing since 1991 to enhanceits relations with ASEAN members.
Minh said: “Overthe past two decades, ASEAN has engaged India in a relationshipwhich had grown rapidly to a full dialogue partnership in 1995, furtherstrengthened with the convening of annual summits since 2002 and mostrecently, last year, elevated to strategic partnership.
“From a relationship which mainly emphasised economic cooperation, theASEAN-India partnership has developed into one of ASEAN’s mostcomprehensive, dynamic and fast-growing partnerships spanning across awhole spectrum of political-security, economic, social-cultural anddevelopment collaboration,” he noted.
He alsosuggested both ASEAN and Indian officials undertake a mid-term review ofthe implementation of this Plan of Action and map out the course ofactions and possible joint activities from now until 2015.-VNA
