ASEAN Centrality our guiding principle in Indo-Pacific: EAM Jaishankar in Singapore

Highlighting the ongoing transition in the world, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, stressed the need for having resilient supply chains, trusted partners and diversified production.

During his speech, Jaishankar spoke about the opportunities for a stronger India-ASEAN partnership. He further stressed that “ASEAN Centrality” will be India’s guiding principle of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

During his state visit to Singapore, Jaishankar delivered the keynote address at the 8th Roundtable of the ASEAN-India Network of think-tanks. The theme of the event was, ‘Navigating a world in transition: Agenda for the ASEAN India partnership’.

Speaking about the emerging knowledge economy and advancement of AI, he brought to attention how this necessitates greater human and enterprise mobility within our region.

The Foreign Minister also shared the key highlights of his speech on X.

Jaishankar put forward India’s commitment towards collaborative connectivity through various initiatives in multiple sectors such as the digital public infrastructure, energy sector and transportation. The EAM also brought to attention India’s leading initiatives for this include the India Middle East Economic Corridor, INSTC and the trilateral highway to the east.

He spoke about utilising two prominent areas namely skilling and education to open up new avenues for deeper partnership with ASEAN.

“India and ASEAN are major demographies whose emerging demands can not only support each other but become larger productive forces in the international economy. Our collaboration can also be crucial in addressing contemporary challenges,” the Foreign Minister added.

Touching upon the energy sector, he said, “In visualising the areas of cooperation, we are also targeting new domains and technologies that hold potential, India and ASEAN are today more focused on realising the value of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia. We are preparing for an era of electric mobility, green shipping and green steel” for a more sustainable region.”

Jaishankar further expressed great confidence in the India-ASEAN ties and highlighted the deep cultural and civilisation connect between the two regions has resulted in fruitful cooperation and a strong foundation for a deeper partnership benefitting our people.

“As India’s engagement with Indo-Pacific and Quad deepens, ASEAN centrality and cohesion will continue to be a guiding principle,” the EAM concluded.