ASEAN major hub for India's global economic engagement: EAM S Jaishankar

ASEAN is one of the major hub for India's global economic engagement and that New Delhi would like to re-visit the level of ambition that it has set for the partnership with the South East Asian bloc, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar asserted on Thursday. 

Discoursing at the INDO-ASEAN business summit, EAM Jaishankar noted that India's relations with the ASEAN are sowed in history, geography, and culture what has energised them in recent years is a growing awareness of the potential they hold for our mutual interests and development.

'Look East Policy rebranded as Act East Policy'

The EAM said that as cooperation between the two sides grew in the course of the last 25 years, new facets and domains emerged for collaboration and that connectivity and security among the more notable ones.

"As a result, our Look East Policy matured into an Act East one. Its success is reflecting in drawing India more comprehensively into the Indo-Pacific,"  EAM Jaishankar added. 

Following the Narendra Modi-led BJP government coming into power in 2014, the Look East Policy was rebranded as the Act East Policy (AEP) as the Prime Minister reaffirmed ASEAN's prominence to the AEP at the two INDO-ASEAN summits held in 2019 and 2020. 

ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a collaboration of 10-nations considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the United States, China, Japan, and Australia are its dialogue partner.

EAM Jaishankar also said that the COVID pandemic has furnished the backdrop for how most nations address both their economic strategies and have even moulded people's lifestyles. "From the prolonged crisis of the last two years, four areas have come into sharp focus for international business cooperation: resilient and green reliable supply chains, health security, digital for development and green and sustainable recovery."

INDO-ASEAN cooperation to answer inadequacies healthcare system: Jaishankar

The EAM said that COVID has brought into the light several inadequacies in the global healthcare system. "Meaningful partnerships, sharing of advanced technologies, collaboration in vaccine and pharmaceutical production, capacity building, and transparency in health information are all part of the answers. And in all of this, the role of business is critical," the minister said.

"Crisis can often be the basis of creativity and our endeavour should be to come out of this stronger," Jaishankar added.
Emphasizing India's feat in the field of production of the COVID vaccine, Jaishanakar said, "Our global collaborations have enabled us to emerge as a major vaccine production centre for the world. In fact, we have also seen innovative methods of collaboration, including an initiative agreed upon by the Quad countries."

Concluding his speech, the minister said India's economic resurgence is driven by reformations in several sectors including manufacturing, labour, agriculture, education, skills, and of course, improving the ease of doing business. Ties between India and ASEAN have intensified during the past few years with attention on ramping up cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence.

Inputs: ANI, PTI

Image: PTI