The ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit will take place in New Delhi from 20-21 December, with Heads-of-State of all ASEAN nations will in attendance.This initiative has been undertaken to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership and the 10th anniversary of ASEAN-India summit-level partnership.
Themed as ‘ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace and Shared Prosperity,’ it is expected to culminate in the adoption of the ‘ASEAN-India Vision Statement 2020’– which would determine the course of future ASEAN-India relations.
Although a formal announcement of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement on services and investments is expected to be made during the summit, the Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma stated that the pact will take a year to take effect.
In the run-up to the Summit, several events like the ASEAN -India Car Rally, the maritime expedition of INS Sudarshini to ASEAN countries, and the ASEAN -India Business Forum were organized by India.
ASEAN is central to India’s ‘Look East Policy’ which was initiated in 1991.With India-ASEAN bilateral trade amounting to $80 billion in 2011-12, India seeks to enhance its robust trade relationship with the ASEAN community by deepening its engagement with our only neighbouring ASEAN nation – Myanmar.
The recently launched Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) involving the ASEAN and six other major economies in the region is an important step forward in this regard.