To mark the 30th anniversary of India-dialogue relations, and the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, India will host the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SAIFMM) on 16th-17th June.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the meeting will see the participation of 10 ASEAN member states. The 10-nation block comprises Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Elaborating more about the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs said, SAIFMM will be preceded by the 24th ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting and would be the first ASEAN- India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be hosted by India in New Delhi.
“This meeting will be accompanied by the 12th Edition of the Delhi Dialogue, a premier track 1.5 dialogue in the ASEAN-India calendar. This will be hosted by India on June 16th and 17th. The theme of Delhi Dialogue-XII is building bridges in the Indo-Pacific and the ministerial session of this Delhi Dialogue- XII will be attended by the External Affairs Minister as well as the ASEAN Ministers,” the Ministry of External Affairs.
Talking of India-ASEAN relations, earlier during the 22nd ASEAN-India Joint Cooperation Committee Meeting held in March, ASEAN and India reaffirmed their commitment to bring their Strategic Partnership to a greater height.
About SAIFMM
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN dialogue relations and 10th anniversary of India’s Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, India will host the two-day Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. It is pertinent to note that the year 2022 has been designated as the ASEAN-India friendship year.
External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar along with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (currently India’s country coordinator in ASEAN) will chair the high-level meeting and will subsequently be joined by ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi.
India-ASEAN Relations
India and ASEAN share a deep, robust and multifaceted relationship. Started with the establishment of the Sectoral Partnership in 1992, to the establishment of strategic partnership in 2012, India-ASEAN relations have seen a robust growth over the years.
This multifaceted partnership encompasses many sectoral dialogue mechanisms and working groups that engage on a regular basis at various levels, such as yearly summits, ministerial and senior official meetings.
Today, ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation. ASEAN is central to India’s ‘Act- East Policy’. Highlighting the importance of momentum in India-ASEAN cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier underlined the centrality of ASEAN in India’s Act East Policy and in India’s Vision for the wider Indo-Pacific Vision.
Will Myanmar participate in the event?
Earlier replying to a question over Myanmar’s participation in the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “It’s an ASEAN-India event and Myanmar is an ASEAN Member state, so participation from Myanmar would be or is as per the ASEAN consensus in this regard.”
But it is worth mentioning that the ASEAN Member countries, earlier during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat have barred Myanmar’s military appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin from participating in the meeting. Since the coup, ASEAN has limited Myanmar’s participation in meetings and events of the groupings as a non-political observer.
Myanmar’s military junta has been facing international wrath and sanctions following the military coup in the year 2021. There has been a repeated call from sections of society over an immediate cessation from “all forms of violence” in the country as well as the release of detained civilian leaders, including Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
India-ASEAN Trade Relations
According to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the commodity trade between India and the ASEAN region has reached 98.39 billion in the period April 2021-February 2022. Of the ASEAN member states, India’s main trading ties are with Singapore at US$ 26.822 billion, followed by Indonesia (US$ 23.043), Malaysia (US$ 17.513), Thailand (US$ 13.452) and Vietnam (US$ 12.638).
Speaking of Investments, according to the data available at the Ministry of External Affairs, “between 2000-2021 cumulative FDIs from ASEAN to India were $117.88 billion. These were mainly accounted for by Singaporean investments in India ($115 billion). Indian investment into ASEAN since April 2019 till March 2022 is US$ 55.5 billion out of which US$ 51.5 billion investment is in Singapore.”
