India and the 10-nation ASEAN bloc can define a new phase of "decentralized" globalisation, following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruption caused to supply chains by the Russia-Ukraine war.
At the first ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that ASEAN's role today is perhaps more important than ever before given the geopolitical challenges and uncertainties that the world faces.
"The Covid pandemic has not fully abated and there is much ground yet to be covered as we walk towards post-pandemic recovery. This path has become even more arduous with geo-political headwinds which we face due to developments in Ukraine and its knock on effects on food and energy security, as well as fertilizer and commodities prices, and logistics and supply chain disruptions," said Jaishankar in his opening remarks.
"A better connected India and ASEAN would be well positioned to promote decentralized globalization and resilient and reliable supply chains that is so needed by the international community," he said.
Jaishankar stressed that India fully supports a strong, unified and prosperous Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), one whose centrality in the Indo-Pacific is fully recognised.
He lauded ASEAN for standing tall as a beacon of regionalism, multilateralism and globalization–a region that has successfully carved out a niche for itself and provided the foundation for the evolving strategic and economic architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
"India fully supports a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN, one whose centrality in the Indo-Pacific is fully recognised. The strong convergence of the AOIP (ASEAN's Outlook on Indo-Pacific) and the IPOI (Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative) is a testimony to our shared Vision for the region," he said.
Foreign ministers of the southeast Asian region are attending the SAIFMM which also marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
Jaishankar thanked Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who is also co-chairing the SAIFMM, for "steadfast support and cooperation" in furthering ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership. The External Affairs minister also commended Cambodia for its Chairship of ASEAN at a time when global order is facing multiple challenges and stresses.
Highlighting that ASEAN-India ties, anchored in history and nurtured by common ethos, have withstood the test of time and grown stronger with each passing decade, Jaishankar said that the ties too must respond to the world that everyone confronts.
Earlier, the SAIFMM participants called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the deepening, broadening and upgrading the Strategic Partnership.
