India-ASEAN Ties
By Dr Arvind Kumar
India’s relations with member countries of Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to gather further impetus in the aftermath of the conclusion of the two-day ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit hosted by India at New Delhi on 20-21 December 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the dialogue-level partnership and the 10th anniversary of India’s Summit-level partnership with ASEAN. This Commemorative Summit was attended by two presidents, seven prime ministers, the Sultan of Brunei and the Vice President of the Philippines. India- ASEAN dialogue relations have grown rapidly from a sectoral dialogue partnership in 1992 to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and since 2002 India has regularly participated in the annual Summits.
The ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit Plenary, on 20 December 2012, adopted Vision Statement which envisages vision for the future direction of ASEAN-India relations in order to enhance the level of engagement and integration between the ASEAN countries and India.The two parties reached a trade deal on goods in 2010 but India has pushed for extending the agreement to services and investment. India and Asean have set a bilateral trade target of US$100 billion (3 billion baht) by 2015. Two-way trade currently stands at $80 billion. India and Asean have set a bilateral trade target of US$100 billion (3 billion baht) by 2015. Two-way trade currently stands at $80 billion. The Vision Statement reiterates the commitment to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship through close high-level contacts and exchanges and will continue to strengthen regular bilateral and multilateral dialogue and consultation at different levels on various regional and international issues of common interest.
