24th ASEAN-India Meeting:
The 24th ASEAN-India Senior Official’s Meeting (SOM) was hosted in Delhi.
- India and ASEAN celebrated the 30th anniversary of their Dialogue Relations.
- Earlier, the 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers’ (ADGMIN) Meeting with India held, where two sides finalized India-ASEAN Digital work plan 2022 for future collaboration in the field.
Key Highlights:
- The SOM reviewed the ASEAN-India strategic partnership and its future direction.
- The leaders made their assessment on the progress of cooperation under three pillars of Partnership – Political-Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural.
- The meeting deliberated on the steps for further implementation of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025).
- The two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest including the Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery.
- Underlining the India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific, emphasized the implementation of the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) to strengthen the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership.
- The ASEAN side appreciated India’s support to ASEAN and ASEAN-led architecture in the region.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations:
- It is a regional grouping that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation.
- It was established in August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the founding fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
- Its chairmanship rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.
ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 2.8 trillion. - It is India’s 4th largest trading partner with about USD 86.9 billion in trade.
- ASEAN brings together ten Southeast Asian states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – into one organisation.
