21st ASEAN-India Summit

General Studies Paper-2

Context: The Prime Minister and ASEAN leaders reviewed how the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has progressed so far and discussed plans for future cooperation in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Key Highlights

• PM announced a 10-point plan which includes:
• Celebrating the year 2025 as ASEAN-India Year of Tourism,
• To celebrate a decade of Act East Policy,
• Review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement by 2025 etc.
• The leaders declared that they would explore collaboration of cross-border linkages between payment systems in ASEAN and India through digital solutions.
• India will share its knowledge and experiences in using digital public infrastructure (DPI) such as Aadhaar and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the ASEAN nations.
• The leaders agreed to create a new ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2026-2030) and adopted Two Joint Statements;
• Joint Statement on Strengthening ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region in the context of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) with the Support of India’s Act East Policy (AEP),
• Joint Statement on Advancing Digital Transformation.
• Leaders welcomed the launch of the ASEAN-India Fund for Digital Future to support joint activities.
• The PM of India emphasized the need to complete the review of ASEAN-India FTA (AITIGA) in a time bound manner.

Significance of ASEAN for India

• Counter China’s Influence: ASEAN’s strategic location makes it a critical partner for balancing China’s growing influence in the region.
• Trade and Investment: In 2021-2022, trade between India and ASEAN stood at around $110 billion. ASEAN countries are also a significant destination for Indian investments.
• Indo-Pacific Region: ASEAN is central to India’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which seeks to promote a free, open, and rules-based order in the region.
• India’s Act East Policy places ASEAN at its core to enhance connectivity, maritime cooperation, and economic engagement.
• Counter-Terrorism: India collaborates with ASEAN on counter-terrorism, transnational crime, and cybersecurity initiatives. These efforts are crucial in maintaining regional security.
• Connectivity and Infrastructure: Initiatives such as the India -Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project aim to improve physical connectivity between India and ASEAN, promoting trade and economic integration.
• ASEAN-led Mechanisms: India is part of key ASEAN-led platforms like the;
• East Asia Summit (EAS),
• ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and
• ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), which are vital for fostering regional dialogue on strategic issues.

Way Ahead

• The Summit represents a milestone in ASEAN-India relations, with both sides reaffirming their strategic and economic importance to one another.
• India’s sustained engagement with ASEAN, through its Act East Policy, will continue to shape the regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific, aligning with ASEAN’s Outlook and the broader goals of regional stability and prosperity.