EAM’s inaugural address at India-ASEAN Delhi Dialogue- III
March 03, 2011
Secretary General of ASEAN His Excellency Dr. Pitsuwan
My Ministerial colleagues from ASEAN countries
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to add my words of welcome to all of you who are present here today with us as we launch the third edition of Delhi Dialogue.
I especially welcome my colleagues from ASEAN countries and their delegations, who have honoured us with their presence not only for this event but also for other activities that we in India are privileged to host this week to focus on our relations with these countries. I express my gratitude to the Secretary General of ASEAN H. E. Dr Surin Pitsuwan for accepting my invitation.
Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests,
We stand at the threshold of twenty years of the launch of the formal Dialogue partnership between India and ASEAN, which started in 1992. We look forward to holding the Commemorative Summit in 2012 in India.
It is a happy coincidence, or is it a coincidence, that this two decade period has been transformational for India, as also for its engagement with South East Asia.
It has been a gratifying engagement for us – an engagement which has drawn strength from India’s rapidly developing bilateral ties with individual ASEAN countries, and from our millennia-old bonds with the countries and civilizations of the region.
The words ‘Look East’ encapsulate our renewed focus on these ties. I wonder if we have a phrase that can capture the age-old roots, cordiality and partnership that are at the heart of our Look East Policy.
Historical ties of India with Myanmar, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Cambodia, Laos and with what was known as the East Indies – Sumatra, Java, Bali and Borneo - are well known. These ties are rooted in geographical contiguity and commonality of a multitude of other factors.
It is both a contemporary need and a responsibility to nurture these natural relationships. We are committed to deepening our all-round engagement with ASEAN.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
India’s first Free Trade Agreement was signed with ASEAN. This Agreement will provide a further thrust to the almost twenty-fold increase in our trade with ASEAN which has been witnessed in nearly twenty years since 1990.
India has undertaken a number of initiatives in line with its commitment to the "Initiative for ASEAN Integration" which is intended to bridge the developmental gap between the older and the newer, less developed, members of ASEAN, i.e. Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The shift of power to Asia in this century is almost a cliché now. While such a shift may indeed be taking place, the processes involved are far more complex than what would appear at first glance. A number of new initiatives and institutions in South East Asia are coterminous with and contribute to this shift.
On the strategic side, there is the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus Eight process. India’s participation in this is part of the wider paradigm shift which characterises our Look East Policy.
The second big institutional change is the continued evolution of the East Asia Summit (EAS) process. Our Look East Policy has evolved with this process, which was born in 2005. This Policy has, therefore, evolved to include the Far Eastern and Pacific regions and facilitated greater links with Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
EAS further expanded at its 5th Meeting in October last year to include US and Russia into its ambit. India welcomed this expansion, which, we believe, will add to regional peace and security. We also believe that the existing mechanisms of EAS will remain intact with this expansion and will be guided to a more fruitful benefit for the region.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
With this backdrop of historical and contemporary wide ranging association, how does India look beyond the first two decades of our engagement with ASEAN?
There are a few vectors which suggest themselves for the future.
Firstly, I think we need to focus on a vision for our region which is inclusive. As many of you know in India we have sought to embed in our developmental experience the principle of inclusivity. These principles need to form part of international efforts as that in the end is the strongest factor for the maintenance of peace and security.
Secondly, we feel that the principles of State sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of others must be the bedrock of our cooperative endeavours.
Thirdly, diversity comes naturally to us in Asia. Respecting diversity and developing tolerance must, therefore, form the third prong of our approach.
Within this framework, I believe, we must focus even more sharply in our efforts to construct an interconnected economic block.
I believe that India and ASEAN can do so by concentrating even greater efforts on physical connectivity. This aspect fits very well with our own domestic priority of upgrading infrastructure. If the two can proceed in tandem, it is possible that in the space of next five to seven years we will see a dramatic flowering of India-ASEAN relations. Connectivity will enhance the potential of Merchandise Trade and Investment Agreements that have been already put into effect or are on the anvil.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Greater physical connectivity will reinforce intellectual inter-linkages that we have or will foster.
In this context, I would like to mention our joint initiative for the revival of the Nalanda University.
Similarly, the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), launched in the year 2000, is a sub-regional initiative comprising India and five ASEAN countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Both the Ganga and the Mekong are not mere rivers but symbols of civilizations. This initiative is thus reflective of the cultural and commercial linkages among the member countries of the MGC through centuries. Members of MGC are working to promote cooperation in the sectors of tourism, culture, education and transport & communications.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our enterprising ancestors created through the passage of time a most wonderful matrix of mutually enriching cultures, and mutually reinforcing bonds. As we look to India-ASEAN engagement beyond 2012, we need to assiduously promote people-to-people relations. It is on the wings of these ties that the future of our relationship will soar.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before I conclude, I would like to congratulate the Indian Council of World Affairs, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and the SAEA Research Group of Singapore, as well as the Economic Research Institute in Jakarta, for their fruitful partnership in restructuring the Delhi dialogue. I also compliment all the think tanks, scholars and experts involved who have worked so hard to bring this Dialogue to fruition.
I hope that our guests will have a pleasant and fruitful stay in Delhi and the Dialogue, which you are engaged in, will bring in to sharper relief the future of our path.
I wish the Dialogue all success.
Thank you.
New Delhi
March 03, 2011
Source: http://meaindia.nic.in/mystart.php?id=530117332
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