PM Modi announces 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN ties

Vientiane (Laos): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN comprehensive partnership and asserted that ties with the regional grouping were critical to guiding Asia's future.

Addressing the 21st India-ASEAN Summit here, Modi noted that India-ASEAN trade had doubled to over $130 billion in the past decade and announced a review of the trade in goods agreement to harness the greater economic potential of the partnership.

“I believe that the 21st century – the Asian century – is the century of India and ASEAN nations,” the Prime Minister said while addressing the leaders of the ASEAN nations that include Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Singapore.

The Prime Minister said India was commemorating the 10th anniversary of its Act East Policy, which has given new energy, direction and momentum to the historic relationship between India and the ASEAN nations.

“The India-ASEAN Summit was a productive one. We discussed how to further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and ASEAN. We look forward to deepening trade ties, cultural linkages and cooperation in technology, connectivity and other such sectors,” he said in a post on X after the summit.

The 10-point plan to further strengthen the India-ASEAN partnership includes celebrating the year 2025 as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism, doubling the number of scholarships at Nalanda University and providing new grants for ASEAN students at Agricultural Universities in India.

Prime Minister Modi also announced celebrating the decade of Act East Policy through several people-centric activities including Youth Summit, Start-up Festival, Hackathon, Music Festival, ASEAN-India Network of Think-Tanks and Delhi Dialogue.

Modi also announced organising the ASEAN-India Women Scientists Conclave under the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund.

He said India would make available $five million for enhancing disaster resilience and also initiate a new Health Ministers’ track towards building Health Resilience.

The Prime Minister also announced initiating a regular mechanism of ASEAN-India Cyber Policy Dialogue towards strengthening digital and cyber resilience and organising a workshop on Green Hydrogen.

Modi also invited ASEAN leaders to join the ‘Plant a Tree for Mother’ campaign towards building climate resilience.

"India-ASEAN friendship, coordination dialogue and cooperation is very important at a time when several parts of the world are facing conflicts and tensions," he said.

Prime Minister Modi said India and the ASEAN nations were neighbours, partners in the Global South, and a region that was witnessing rapid growth.

Modi arrived here in Laos on a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits and further deepen engagement with countries in the groupings.