Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for greater convergence between the visions of India and the ASEAN for Indo-Pacific – a region, which is witnessing growing belligerence of China.
Modi announced India’s contribution of $1 million to the ASEAN Covid-19 Response Fund, as he joined the leaders of the 10 South-East Asian nations in a virtual meeting.
The Prime Minister called for an early start of the long-pending review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement. He underlined the importance of diversification and resilience of supply chains for economic recovery after the Covid-19.
Modi underlined “the importance of strengthening convergence between India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific to ensure a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region”, Riva Ganguly Das, Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told journalists after the virtual India-ASEAN summit.
The Prime Minister invited the ASEAN countries to take the lead on various pillars of the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative of India.
Modi underscored importance of greater physical and digital connectivity between the ASEAN and India and re-iterated New Delhi’s offer of $1 billion Line of Credit to support connectivity in the South East Asia region.
Published 12 November 2020, 12:15 IST
