Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

 

About

·       The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is an economic union comprising 10 member states in Southeast Asia, to promote intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration between its members and other countries in Asia.

·       The motto of ASEAN is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” and Secretariat at Jakarta, Indonesia.

·       ASEAN was created on 8 August 1967 and first summit meeting, held in Bali, Indonesia in 1976.

·       In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. In response, the organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the UN.

Member countries of ASEAN

·       Initially ASEAN was created with five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

·       On 7 January 1984, Brunei became ASEAN's sixth member and on 28 July 1995, Vietnam joined as the seventh member. Laos and Myanmar joined on 23 July 1997.Cambodia was joined on 30 April 1999.

Objective

·       Primary objective was to accelerate economic growth and through that social progress and cultural development.

·       To promote regional peace and stability based on the rule of law and the principle of United Nations charter.

·       To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the social, economic, culture, scientific, technical administrative fields.

·       To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, the improvement of transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of peoples.

India-ASEAN Relations

·       India’s relationship with ASEAN has emerged as a key cornerstone of our foreign policy.

·       The relationship has evolved from the ‘Look East Policy’ enunciated in early 1990s which led India to become a Sectoral Partner of ASEAN in 1992, a Dialogue Partner in 1996 and a Summit-level Partner in 2002.

·       The India-ASEAN Strategic Partnership acquired a new momentum with the announcement of “Act-East Policy” in 2014. It conveyed a clear intent on the part of India to up-scaling its engagement with the ASEAN Member States.

Ø  India-ASEAN Trade & Economic Cooperation - The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement was signed in 2009 and ones on ASEAN-India Trade-in-Services and Investments in 2015. With the signing of these Agreements, the ASEAN-India FTA is complete.

Ø  Agriculture - An annual ASEAN-India Agriculture Ministers Meeting (AIMMAF) has been formalized and has met regularly since 2011.

Ø  Space - In the field of Space cooperation, ISRO is implementing a project proposal for establishment of Tracking and Data Reception Station and Data Processing Facility at Ho Chi Minh City, Training of ASEAN Personnel in Space Science and Technology at the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP).

Ø  New & Renewable Energy - Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) convened the 1^st ASEAN India Ministerial meeting on New & Renewable Energy in New Delhi on November 7, 2012.

Ø  Small and Medium Enterprises - India has been cooperating in SME sector with ASEAN Member States through a Joint Working Group. India has created a Project Development Fund equivalent to $ 75 million approx. to develop manufacturing hubs in CLMV countries.

Ø  Environment and Forest - ASEAN-India Green Fund was established in 2007 with US$ 5 million for funding pilot projects to promote adaptation and mitigation technologies in the field of climate change. The 1st Meeting of the ASEAN-India Environment Ministers held on September, 2012.

Ø  Tourism - India-ASEAN cooperation in Tourism Sector is conducted through annual ASEAN India Tourism Ministers Meeting. The 3^rd ATM+India meeting in 2012 signed a MoU on Strengthening Tourism Cooperation thereby making India the first Dialogue Partner to sign a MoU on Strengthening Tourism Cooperation with ASEAN.

Ø  ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks - ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks established since 2009-10 held its 4th Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August, 2015. The 5th meeting is slated to be held in Indonesia in 2017.

Ø  Students Exchange Programme - A Student Exchange Programme has also been institutionalized under which 250 ASEAN Students visit India annually from ASEAN Member States. The participation has been increased to 500 students in the Commemorative year 2017.

Ø  Delhi Dialogue - Delhi Dialogue is a premier annual track 1.5 event since 2009 to discuss politico-security and economic issues between ASEAN and India. Delhi Dialogue has an Inaugural Ministerial Session, a Business Session and an Academic Session. It has evolved into a premier event for taking stock of global geo-political movements and their impact on ASEAN-India relations and making recommendations for future direction of this landmark relationship.

Ø  ASEAN-India Plan of Action - A Plan of Action (2004-2010) was developed to implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity. The 3rd Plan of Action for 2016-2020 has been finalized after successful implementation of previous one and a list of prioritized activities chalked out for 2016-18. It envisages functional cooperation in a range of sectors in the political, economic and socio-cultural spheres with the objective of capacity building and development, particularly to narrow the development gaps between ASEAN member states under their Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) programme.