Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting

Why in the News?

Recently, the External Affairs Minister of India visited Cambodia to attend the annual ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AIFMM).

Key Takeaways:

ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AIFMM)

• India appreciated the Cambodian Chairship of ASEAN this year, under the theme ‘ASEAN ACT: Addressing Challenges Together.
• The meeting worked on ways to elevate ASEAN-India cooperation in areas of:
  • Smart agriculture
  • Healthcare
  • new and renewable energy
  • digital inclusivity
  • fintech
• India’s advocated support for ASEAN unity and centrality in a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
• Noting the strong convergence between ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) India called for greater cooperation with ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific.
• The ASEAN-related ministerial meetings in Phnom Penh included the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign ministers’ meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) ministerial meeting.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• ASEAN is a regional grouping which aims to promote economic, political and security cooperation.
• established Year: 8 august 1968
• Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand
• ASEAN Members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
• It was set up during the polarized atmosphere of the Cold War to promote stability in the region.
• Its chairmanship rotates on an annual basis, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member states.
• India and ASEAN are holding annual summits since 2002 to elevate political, security, economic and socio-cultural ties. In 2015, ASEAN leaders welcomed the idea of India’s “Act East Policy.”
• The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) came into being in 2015, an important achievement in the ASEAN’s regional economic integration vision.
  • The AEC envisions the ASEAN as a single unified market with a flow of goods, services, investments, and freer movement of capital across the region.

ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific:

• • It offers an insight to guide cooperation in the ASEAN region and enhance ASEAN’s Community building process and further strengthen the existing ASEAN-led mechanisms, such as the East Asia Summit.

Objectives:

• • to create an enabling environment for peace, stability and prosperity
  • upholding the rules-based regional architecture
  • promoting closer economic cooperation,

How important is the ASEAN region economically?

• If ASEAN were a country, it would make the seventh-largest economy in the world, with a combined GDP of $2.6 trillion in 2014.
• By 2050 it has been projected to rank as the fourth-largest economy in the world.
• Home to more than 622 million population, the ASEAN region has a larger population than the European Union or North America.
• It has the third-largest labour force in the world, behind China and India.

India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI):

• It is an open, non-treaty-based regime for nations to work together to address common issues of the region.

ASEAN Significance for India:

• ASEAN occupies a pivotal place in the security of the Indo-Pacific region.
• India and ASEAN can cooperate to combat terror funding, cyber security threats, and tax evasions.
• A rules-based regional security architecture can be built with ASEAN’s help.
• ASEAN is an important element in the implementation of India’s Act East Policy.

Way Forward:

• Despite their distinct cultures, histories and languages, member states of ASEAN share a focus on jobs and prosperity.
• Household purchasing power is rising, taking the region into the next frontier of consumer growth.
• The ASEAN region countries must meet the challenges of providing enormous investment in infrastructure and human capital development to make sure that it realizes their full potential.