The ASEAN and India will mark the 30th anniversary of their dialogue relations next year when Cambodia holds the ASEAN chairmanship, H.E. Kao Kim Hourn, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister told reporters after the 18th ASEAN-India Summit, held this noon via videoconference.
In the meeting, the ASEAN and Indian leaders agreed to organise various programmes and activities to commemorate the event, he added.
According to H.E. Kao Kim Hourn, the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific was adopted at the end of the summit.
The ASEAN and Indian leaders noted that despite the COVID-19 crisis, the cooperation between ASEAN and India is progressing. They were committed to promote and strengthen their cooperation on trade, investment, energy, finance, science and technology, innovation and digital economy. They also encouraged the ASEAN-India Business Council to continue its role in boosting trade between the two sides.
The ASEAN leaders welcomed India’s support for ASEAN’s efforts to recover from COVID-19 crisis and thanked India for its contribution of US$1 million to the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund. They also thanked India for its support for capacity building through training programmes by providing 1,000 scholarships to ASEAN students to pursue their PhD studies in India.
The ASEAN and Indian leaders acknowledged the importance of strengthening ASEAN-India cooperation on connectivity, especially the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity. They praised and gave importance on the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific to ensure peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
The ASEAN leaders requested India to continue its support, particularly for the cooperation in the Mekong-Ganga sub-region.
