IT News
New Delhi, July 22:
Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs and Education addressed the Inaugural Session of International Conference “Geopolitical Shifts and Opportunities: New Horizons in India-Southeast Asia Relations” to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-India relations on 20th July 2022 in New Delhi. The Conference was organised by Indian Council of World Affairs in collaboration with the ASEAN-India Centre of the Research and Information Sytems for Developing Countries, New Delhi.
During his address Dr. Singh said that 2022 is special for India ASEAN relationship as it marks the 30th anniversary of dialogue relations between ASEAN and India. He underlined that ASEAN-India partnership has now turned into a robust and strategic partnership in the wake of new global realities, especially in the background of a jolt to global order by the economic fallout triggered by Covid-19 pandemic. The ASEAN-India relationship is one of the key pillars of India’s foreign policy. What began as ‘Look East’ evolved into our ‘Act East’ Policy under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This has helped drive our vision of a wider Indo-Pacific.
Dr. Singh reiterated India’s commitment for long-lasting and abiding support to our ASEAN partners to uphold peace, stability and prosperity in the region. He stressed on our shared commitment to international law, our common desire for reformed multilateralism and our vision for an inclusive regional architecture make India-ASEAN cooperation a factor for stability in the region.
Dr. Singh also maintained that India has an intrinsic interest in connectivity initiative of ASEAN, a key to growth and prosperity of the region. In addition to infrastructure connectivity, India and ASEAN are also working together in the field of digital connectivity through, inter alia, India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022.
Other speakers during the Inaugural Session of the two day international workshop included noted international relations scholar and leading columnist Prof. C Raja Mohan, Director General of ICWA Ambassador Vijay Thakur Singh and the Singaporean High Commissioner to New Delhi Simon Wong Wie Kuen.
