NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday proposed a 12-point plan to expand cooperation between India and the 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which included multi-modal connectivity, trade and digital infrastructure.
Creating an economic corridor to link Southeast East Asia, India, West Asia and Europe, and offering to share India’s digital public infrastructure stack with ASEAN partners were among Modi’s basket of proposals in his address at the annual ASEAN-India summit at Jakarta in Indonesia.
A joint statement on maritime cooperation said the two sides agreed to deepen their strategic partnership with concrete actions to implement the ASEAN-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity. It said the ASEAN supports India’s initiatives for seamless connectivity in the Indo-Pacific and cooperation in a wide array of areas.
Modi, in his address, said ASEAN is the central pillar of India’s Act East Policy. “Our history and geography connect India and ASEAN. Along with shared values, regional unity, peace, prosperity and belief in a multipolar world also binds us together,’’ he said.
A maritime cooperation partnership was agreed upon, which recognised the importance of oceans and seas as the key factors in driving growth. Coming in the wake of China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, the reference was significant. Timor-Leste was an observer at this meeting. An Indian Embassy will be opened in Dili, Timor-Leste.
Later, Modi attended the East Asia Summit. “India fully supports the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. This underscores the significance of the ‘East Asia Summit’ as a crucial platform for implementing the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative,” he said.