NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on June 16 said that India fully supports a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the one whose centrality of the Indo pacific is fully recognised.
Addressing the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting today in New Delhi, Jaishankar highlighted that ASEAN has stood tall as a beacon of regionalism, multilateralism and globalisation.
"ASEAN has always stood tall as a beacon of regionalism, multilateralism and globalisation. It has successfully carved out a niche for itself in the region and provided a foundation for the evolving strategic and economic architecture in the Indo-Pacific," he said.
India is hosting the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (SAIFMM) to mark the 30th anniversary of our dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.
"ASEAN's role today is perhaps more important than ever before, given the geopolitical challenges and uncertainties that the world faces. India fully supports a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN, one whose centrality in Indo-Pacific is fully recognized. The strong convergence of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) is the testimony to our shared vision for the region," he said further.
Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Singapore, India's Country Coordinator, is co-chairing the meeting.
"A better-connected India and ASEAN would be well-positioned to promote decentralized globalisation and resilient and reliable supply chains that are needed by the international community. It's important that we identify a new set of priorities while ensuring the early realisation of our ongoing initiatives," Jaishankar said further.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar and Foreign Ministers of other nations posed for a group photo as they assembled for the meeting.