ASEAN Summit (November 2019)

In November 2019, 35th ASEAN Summit, 14th East Asia Summit, and 3rd meeting of RCEP and 16th ASEAN -India Summit were held (in Bangkok, Thailand) which represent the active participation of India towards Act East Policy. In the recent summit of ASEAN, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit, a trade negotiation deal was also convened but it could not be finalized after considering all issues that concern Indian interests in trade in goods, services, and investments. In this summits three main countries were convened a bi-lateral summit with India.

The government has recited in the summit that India’s Act East Policy is a significant cornerstone of the Indo-Pacific strategy, adding that ASEAN is at the core of Act East Policy.

India-Thailand

  • In the initiative of Act East Policy India is focused on the communicating with the East Asian Nations. For this India with Thailand agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in areas such as trade, culture, and defence industries sector and emphasis was laid to enhance connectivity in the areas of physical and digital connectivity between these countries. Thailand 4.0 initiative of transforming Thailand into a value-based economy is complementary to India’s priorities-Digital India, Skill India, Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart Cities, Jal Jeevan Mission, etc. In the contemporary context, India’s Act East policy is complemented by Thailand’s Look West Policy which has made the relationship deep, robust and multifaceted.

India-Indonesia

  • India and Indonesia agreed to work together for peace, security, and prosperity in order to achieve their shared vision on maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. India is working with Indonesia to strengthen the ties in the areas of defence, security, connectivity, trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges.

India-Myanmar

  • In the recent ASEAN summit India has appreciated the importance of Myanmar to India’s Look East Policy and the Neighbourhood First Policy. The emphasis was laid on building a stable and peaceful border by improving physical connectivity to and through Myanmar to Southeast Asia through building roads, ports, and expansion of air connectivity.

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