AMN
INDIA’S External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said India places ASEAN in heart of its Act East policy. Addressing the 9th edition of Delhi Dialogue in New Delhi today, Mrs Swaraj said India is focusing on Commerce, Connectivity and Culture as the key areas of cooperation in future with ASEAN countries.
She said efforts are being made on all fronts to enhance physical and digital connectivity. The Minister said India ASEAN share historical, geographical and civilisational ties and as such, they are natural partners. She said cultural highways linked Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna, Irrawaddy and Mekong and the inter mingling happened without any conquest or colonisation.
Mrs Swaraj said, India has enhanced its engagement in South-East Asia after the new government assumed office. She said, it was reflected in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks in 2014 at the India-ASEAN Summit in Myanmar where he declared that India’s ‘Look East Policy’ has become ‘Act East Policy’.
Talking about the Goods and Services tax (GST), the minister said, the recently launched tax reform has opened new opportunities for trade and investment into India.She also invited companies from ASEAN countries to take advantage of opportunities for investment in India, in numerous sectors.
Theme of the two day dialogue is “ASEAN-India Relations: Charting the Course for the Next 25 Years”. Political leaders, policy makers, senior officials, diplomats, business leaders, think tanks and academicians from India and ASEAN countries will participate in the discussions.
It is a premier event to discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural engagement between ASEAN and India. This Dialogue has been held annually since 2009.