Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand suggested the concept of “balance” as an approach to cope with COVID-19 before handing over the ASEAN-India Country Coordinatorship at the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting

วันที่นำเข้าข้อมูล 4 Aug 2021

วันที่ปรับปรุงข้อมูล 30 Nov 2022

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The Deputy Prime and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand co-chaired the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting where he suggested the concept of “balance” as an approach to cope with COVID19 including balance in regional architecture and in development, especially green growth and digital development before handing over ASEAN-India Country Coordinatorship to Singapore.

On 4 August 2021, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and H.E. Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, co-chaired the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting via video conference during the 54th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings.

The Meeting discussed the strengthening of the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership towards COVID-19 recovery. Key areas of cooperation highlighted in the meeting included promoting trade and investment through the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA); enhancing regional connectivity through the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and its possible extension to Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam; pushing forward maritime cooperation and Blue Economy; advancing cooperation on ICT and cybersecurity, R&D of COVID-19 medicines and vaccines, and biotechnology; as well as strengthening people-to-people ties, including through provision of scholarships by India to ASEAN.

The Meeting also exchanged views on regional and international issues, where India reiterated its continued support for ASEAN Centrality and pushed forward practical cooperation under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand delivered the ASEAN Common Statement in Thailand’s capacity as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. He suggested the concept of “balance” as a way to cope with changes and disruptions brought about by COVID-19. This included the balance in the regional architecture that needs to be fostered through cooperation between ASEAN and external partners including India, and the balance in development path, including green growth and digital development in which India has keen interest.

Before concluding the Meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand handed over the Country Coordinatorship for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations to Singapore who will serve as the Country Coordinator for the period of 2021-2024. The Meeting also thanked Thailand for having served as Country Coordinator for the past three years.

ASEAN-India relations date back to 1992. Next year, ASEAN and India will celebrate their 30th anniversary with India’s proposal to announce the Year 2022 as the “ASEAN-India Friendship Year."

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