16^th ASEAN-India Summit

 On 3 November 2019, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-Cha (Ret.), Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, chaired the 16^th ASEAN-India Summit, during the 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

 The Meeting congratulated the Prime Minister of India on his re-election, and expressed appreciation for India’s Act East Policy, and her continued support for ASEAN centrality and the existing ASEAN-led mechanisms in the regional architecture, particularly the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific. 

 On political-security cooperation, the Leaders discussed cooperation to counter terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational crimes, as well as cooperation to promote maritime security and cyber security. They noted the convergence between ASEAN’s and India’s view on the Indo-Pacific. 

 On economic cooperation, the Leaders aimed to increase trade value between India and ASEAN to 200 billion USD by 2022, and to open greater market access among each other under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The Meeting supported increased networking among the private sector of both sides, capacity building for MSMEs and startups, as well as cooperation on tourism and blue economy. With regards to connectivity, the Meeting discussed progress made in the cooperation between ACMECS and the Mekong-Ganga frameworks and reiterated its support for the expansion of ASEAN-India connectivity via land and air links, especially the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and the air transport agreement.

 On socio-cultural cooperation, the Meeting expressed its appreciation for India’s initiative to provide 1,000 PhD scholarships to ASEAN students in the area of technology. The Meeting also discussed cooperation on youth and women empowerment, human capital development, smart cities network, as well as cooperation to address transboundary environmental challenges, climate change, and disaster management. 

 The ASEAN-India Summit sought to strengthen the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in all dimensions and discussed the new Plan of Action for next year, following the implementation of the current ASEAN-India Plan of Action 2016-2020. 

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to drive forward the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership that would lead to concrete results and sustainable development. Thailand is the current Country Coordinator for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.

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