ASEAN and INDIA

ASEAN:
On August 8, 1967 five countries met at Bangkok and established the regional cooperation group –ASEAN. The founder members were- Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. It has its HQ at Jakarta (Indonesia).
At present the ASEAN is a grouping of 10 South East Asian countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

ARF:
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was created in 1994. It was established with a purpose to involve major world powers in a dialogue with the region.
Presently ARF comprises of 23 members including 10 ASEAN members, prominent among them are US, Russia, China, and India. However Pakistan is not a member of ARF so far.

ASEAN - India Summit:
The first ASEAN – India summit was held on 5 November, 2002. The summit mainly hovered around the issues:

a) a convergence of ideas on terrorism
b) search for new areas of economic cooperation

They recognized the pluralistic nature of their societies, encompassing major religions of the world, and a wealth of diverse cultures. They agreed that this affinity constituted a special asset for the further development of their relations.
Given new developments and challenges arising in the 21st Century, the Leaders of ASEAN and India resolved to further advance their cooperation to a new height to address common challenges confronting the region and the world.
ASEAN and India committed themselves to jointly contribute to the promotion of peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, and respond positively to the challenges of a dynamic regional and international environment.

Chairman's Statement of the 6th ASEAN-India Summit, Singapore, 21 November 2007

· The 6th ASEAN-India Summit was held on 21 November 2007 in Singapore and was chaired by H.E. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore. The Summit was attended by the Heads of State/Government of ASEAN Member Countries and H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India.
· India's engagement with ASEAN was a pillar of India's "Look East" policy. Also highlighted the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership as a key building block for a robust architecture for regional cooperation.
· India continued to support for ASEAN's efforts to build an ASEAN Community by 2015 to narrow the development gap within ASEAN through its various contributions, including the Initiative for ASEAN Integration and other sub-regional growth initiatives such as the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Initiative.
· The Progress Report of Implementation of the Plan of Action (POA) to implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity, and tasked our Ministers and officials to accelerate the implementation of the POA through concrete projects and practical cooperation.
· The establishment of an ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) would anchor the strategic engagement between both sides and sustain the momentum of the relationship. We agreed that the AIFTA, when realized, would act as an important building block for a regional FTA in Asia.
· Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh proposed for dialogue on an Open Skies Agreement at the 5th ASEAN-India Summit in Cebu in January 2007 that would fully liberalize air services between ASEAN and India and foster greater interaction and movement between the peoples of Southeast Asia and India.
· Further integration of shipping, road and rail links between Southeast Asia and India to create an "Arc of Advantage" for our region.
· There were more than 2 million tourists from India visiting ASEAN this year and 280,000 ASEAN tourists to India.
· Deep concern over the impact of climate change on socio-economic development and the environment, particularly in developing countries.
· India's proposal to establish an ASEAN-India Network on Climate Change that would pool and share expertise and exchange best practices. In this regard, we welcomed India's offer to set up an "ASEAN-India Green Fund" with an initial contribution from India of US$ 5 million, and looked forward to its early operationalisation.
· ASEAN and India shared common interests in managing trans-boundary issues such as maritime security, counter-terrorism and disaster relief.
· India's proposed to further extend cooperation in the field of healthcare, including: (i) making basic drugs available at low cost to public health systems; and (ii) developing a framework of cooperation in traditional medicine.
· Emphasis on human resource development as another important area of cooperation to help narrow the development gap.
· We noted India's proposal to establish a special program for regular exchanges among our parliamentarians and tasked our officials to follow up on the idea.
















MAYANK PRATAP SINGH