On 16 June 2022, Mrs. Pornpimol Kanchanalak, Special Envoy of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-India relations. The Meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, and Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of Singapore (as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations).

The Meeting celebrated the ASEAN-India milestone Anniversary and discussed the strengthening and concretising of the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in key areas, which include promoting trade and investment through the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA); reinforcing supply chain resilience for food and pharmaceutical products; advancing digital transformation; enhancing connectivity through the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and its extension to Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam; and promoting security cooperation, especially in the maritime domain and non-traditional security. The Meeting also exchanged views on regional and international issues, where India emphasised the importance of ASEAN as the central element of its foreign policy, especially the Act East Policy, and reiterated commitment to taking forward practical cooperation under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).

The Special Envoy emphasised the need to push forward ASEAN-India cooperation to address geo-political challenges, including major powers’ competition and intensified international conflicts, and to strengthen supply chain resilience for sustainable economic recovery. She also expressed support for India’s constructive role through its Act East policy for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

On the same occasion, the Special Envoy also joined the Ministerial Session of the Delhi Dialogue XII under the theme “Building Bridges in Indo-Pacific,” where she highlighted the need to build bridges of collaboration amidst changes and uncertainties of international politics and economic affairs and challenges arising from technology and innovation advancement. She also attended a joint call on H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, together with other ASEAN Foreign Ministers and representatives, and had bilateral meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, Minister of External Affairs of India, Secretary-General of ASEAN, and Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India.