Vice President leads delegation at the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Cambodia

Source: The post is based on the article “Vice President leads delegation at the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Cambodia” published in PIB on 13th November 2022.

What is the News?

The Vice President is leading India’s delegation at the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Note: This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.

What are the key highlights from the 19th ASEAN-India Summit?

ASEAN and India adopted a joint statement announcing the elevation of the existing Strategic Partnership to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. 

Both sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region.

They agreed to enhance cooperation in the space sector through the establishment of Tracking, Data reception and Processing Stations in Vietnam and Indonesia. 

India-ASEAN Relations Timeline

India’s focused engagement with ASEAN started in 1992 when India launched its Look East policy and became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN. 

In 1996 India became a dialogue partner and subsequently a summit level partner in 2002. 

At the 20th Commemorative Summit held in New Delhi in 2012, India-ASEAN relations were elevated to a strategic partnership. 

In 2014, India revamped the Look East policy as the Act East policy to add strategic focus to engagements with ASEAN.