India should be proactive: ASEAN

India should be proactive: ASEAN

Context

All leaders at the just concluded ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit had urged India to play a proactive role in the Asia-Pacific region, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said here on Friday

The bloc sees New Delhi as key to Indo-Pacific region’s peace and prosperity, says MEA

The official statement complements Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments that the Indo-Pacific region will be “indispensable” India’s future

 Looking East

In an op-ed article, published on Friday in leading newspapers across ASEAN countries, including the The Straits Times (Singapore), Bangkok Post (Thailand) and Manila Bulletin (Philippines), Mr Modi said, “Indians have always looked East to see the nurturing sunrise and the light of opportunities. Now, as before, the East, or the Indo-Pacific region, will be indispensable to India’s future and our common destiny.”

Education initiatives

• During the summit, India announced 1,000 PhD fellowships in the IITs for students from the ASEAN countries.
• New Delhi also announced a dedicated training course in highway engineering, setting up of a virtual network of universities, and pilot projects to set up digital infrastructure at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit
• Further, an ASEAN-India Startup festival will be held later this year.

Year of Tourism

The participating countries also agreed to celebrate 2019 as the year of tourism for ASEAN nations

Deradicalization attempts

Apart from countering ‘traditional and non-traditional’ threats to freedom of navigation, India plans to work closely with Malaysia and Indonesia on handling radicalization

A conference on de-radicalisation will be held soon, said the official.

The India-ASEAN bonhomie will be followed by further diplomacy on Sunday when Delhi will host Cambodian leader Hun Sen for a bilateral vist.