India to host ASEAN overseas ministers subsequent week

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India will host the overseas ministers of ASEAN nations from June 16 to 17 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation grouping.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated Myanmar’s participation on the ASEAN-India overseas ministers’ assembly can be based mostly on the foundations of the grouping, which is seen as a sign that the nation’s overseas minister is unlikely to be in New Delhi.

The place of the ASEAN on partaking Myanmar at multilateral boards following the navy coup in that nation final yr has been that it needs to be on the non-political stage.

“India will host the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SAIFMM) on June 16 to 17 to mark the 30th anniversary of our dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of our strategic partnership with the ASEAN,” Bagchi stated at a media briefing.

He stated External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan will co-chair the assembly.

The overseas minister of Singapore is India’s nation coordinator in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

Bagchi stated overseas ministers of different ASEAN member states and the ASEAN secretary-general will take part within the SAIFMM. The yr 2022 has been designated because the ASEAN-India friendship yr.

Asked about Myanmar’s participation, Bagchi stated it could be as per the ASEAN guidelines. There have been indications that India is unlikely to ask the Myanmarese overseas minister for the assembly and as a substitute would invite an official.

On February 1 final yr, Myanmar’s navy grabbed energy within the coup and imposed a state of emergency after detaining Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and different leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD). The nation witnessed large protests following the coup. The worldwide neighborhood has been severely vital of the coup.

ASEAN-India dialogue relations began with the institution of sectoral partnership in 1992 which graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995, Summit stage Partnership in 2002, and strategic partnership in 2012.

“Today, ASEAN-India strategic partnership stands on a strong foundation. The ASEAN is central to India’s Act East Policy and its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific,” Bagchi stated.

“This multi-faceted partnership encompasses many sectoral dialogue mechanisms and working groups that meet regularly at various levels and include annual summit, ministerial and senior officials’ meetings,” he stated.

The ongoing India-ASEAN collaboration is guided by the Plan of Action 2021-2025 which was adopted in 2020.

While ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM), hosted by the ASEAN Chair is an annual occasion, the SAIFMM can be the primary ASEAN-India FMM to be hosted by India in New Delhi.

The SAIFMM shall be preceded by twenty fourth ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting on June 15. The SAIFMM shall be accompanied by the twelfth version of Delhi Dialogue, a premier Track 1.5 Dialogue within the ASEAN-India calendar, which shall be hosted by India on June 16-17.