New Delhi (India), February 14 Terming India as an important player in the Indo-Pacific region, the visiting Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Dr Kao Kim Hourn, said maritime security features prominently in the areas of collaboration and cooperation between the two sides.
In an exclusive interview withon Wednesday, the ASEAN Secretary-General said that India and ASEAN have a common interest in the region's vast maritime area and both can work on "untapped areas of cooperation."
Maritime cooperation was one of the key focus areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) that was adopted in June 2019.
During the top ASEAN official's five-day visit to India, which concludes today, he met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed the depth and breadth of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which was adopted in November 2022. The discussions included the progress of the implementation of the Plan of Action to implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity.
"We covered a wide range of issues in the Marine security area, but also in the economic cooperation sector, also in the social cultural field as well. So, I can say that what we discussed is how to implement the plan of action of the ASEAN India relations," the Secretary-General said. The focus of the discussions, he said, was also on increasing trade and investment, tourism and connectivity.
Responding to a question about the steps being taken to increase cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, the ASEAN Secretary-General said, "Well, of course, we just signed an MoU between the ASEAN Secretariat and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. Also, the Pacific Island Forum. Believe that we have opportunity to work together. So I think India is its important player and we hope to work on the untapped areas of cooperation."
The Indo-Pacific region is one of the most populous and economically active regions of the world which includes four continents: Asia, Africa, Australia and America and two of the great oceans of the world, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Southeast Asia connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and its waters are one of the most strategic maritime spaces in the world in terms of global trade, food and energy security and marine biodiversity.
During the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Jakarta in September 2023, ASEAN agreed to collaborate with the Association of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
The IORA organisation was established on March 7, 1997 and consists of 23 countries including Australia, France, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. The cooperation priority areas include the maritime sector, inter-regional connectivity, sustainable development, blue economy, green economy, digital economy, and disaster mitigation management. A similar cooperation was also signed between ASEAN and Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), a regional organization that consists of 18 countries in the Pacific Ocean which was founded in 1971 at the initiative of New Zealand.
India is the fourth-largest trading partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a political and economic union of 10 states in Southeast Asia. India's trade with ASEAN stands at USD 81.33 billion, which is approximately. 10.6 per cent of India's overall trade. India's exports to ASEAN stand at 11.28 per cent of its total exports.
The ASEAN leadership is focusing on strengthening the cooperation and partnership with India with emphasis on increasing the trade and investment, tourism and connectivity.
Asserting that ties between the India and ASEAN have a lot of potential, ASEAN General-Secretary Kao Kim stressed on the need to have more land and maritime connectivity between member countries of the grouping and India.
"So we want to see more trade going up, for example, between us and India, we still have a lot of potential, because there's a lot of significant trade right now trade volume. In 2022, we had USD 113 billion as a trade example, we want to see that continue. Also opening more doors to the tourism cooperation sector. So we want to see more cooperation in tourism, so our citizens can travel, particularly with the increasing connectivity," he said.
The two sides are also exploring different areas in sections like the digital economy, the global economy, and the green economy, the circular economy to expand on ties.
India and ASEAN enhanced their maritime cooperation with the inaugural ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) held in May 2023. The exercise was co-hosted by navies of India and Singapore.
At the 20th ASEAN-India Summit held in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta in September 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had presented a 12 point proposal, including a call for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness to strengthen India-ASEAN cooperation. A joint statement on maritime Cooperation was adopted at the Summit, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
Prior to that at the 13th ASEAN Maritime Forum held in Bali in August 2023, the ASEAN Maritime Outlook (AMO) was launched.
Meanwhile, in a statement the ASEAN Secretary General said that his visit to India contributed to the advancement of ASEAN-Indian relations.
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