The Indian ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Indonesia to be important on Tuesday, as it shows how India gives importance to this region to ASEAN as a whole. This will be the first ASEAN- India Summit since the two sides elevated their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.Despite the G20 Summit taking place this weekend from September 8, Modis visit to Jakarta shows how the Look East Policy from the 90s changed to Act East policy after Modi was elected as the Prime Minister of India in 2014, says Indian ambassador to ASEAN Jayant Khobragade. In his peach he also mention about about the connection India and the ASEAN countries have had over the years relating civilisational connection. According to media reports, Khobragade has also stressed on the importance India gives this region and the importance of UNCLOS in maintaining good trade relations between the countries. PM Narendra Modi to visit Indonesia today for ASEAN-India SummitRead @ANI Story | https://t.co/7YOO7BO850#PMModi #Indonesia #ASEANSummit pic.twitter.com/j2vkfg2YVV— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) September 6, 2023Indian ASEAN envoys remarks“The Prime Minister of India is coming here, despite of G20 Summit. This shows the kind of importance that we give to this region. When we talk about Act East policy, as you know in the early 90s, we had the Look East policy, then our Prime Minister of India in 2014 gave us the Act East policy, then again it evolved into Indo Pacific Oceans initiative, and it became a more comprehensive,” Khobragade said in a media interview.He further stressed on the importance India has given to ASEAN centrality and explained what ASEAN centrality stands for. He said “We always give importance to ASEAN centrality. And when we say ASEAN centrality, which means, its complex of many things. Its about connectivity, trade, investment, people-to-people contact. I must also mention the civilisational connection between India and ASEAN, if you go to different countries here you will see, like many monuments, which you can relate to, so, if you take this sum total, then you realize how important this region is and therefore there has always been the focus of the government of India, on this region.”Khobragade also mentioned Chinas expansionist policy in his speech where he said that given the communist countrys rising aggressive stance in the Indo-Pacific, the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) plays a very important role as it will act like a constitution about the freedom of navigation. This Convention is important “because we want this region to grow to prosper,” he further added.Highlighting the India-ASEAN relationship Jayant Khobragade mentioned that Indias trade was worth $130 billion during 2022-23, second only to the European Union, and the ASEAN India – Free Trade Agreement also needs to be contemplated.“If you look at the calendar year, then this financial year it (trade) was like around 130$ billion total trade, just next to European Union. So second largest, but like, all FTAs, this ASEAN India – Free Trade Agreement also needs to be contemplated and therefore, that review is happening. The Ministry of Commerce is fully involved in it and you need negotiation with their counterparts. We hope that this review is quite complex, you know, so they already have identified the priority area etc. And they desire to complete it by 2025”, said the envoy.#WATCH | Jakarta, Indonesia | Jayant Khobragade, Ambassador of India to ASEAN says, …If you look at the calendar year, last year, ASEAN was our largest trading partner. This financial year, it was around 131 Billion Dollars – just next to the European Union. All FTAs… pic.twitter.com/boK8X02EEP— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2023Modis visit to JakartaPrime Minister Modi is set to leave for the ASEAN Summit on the night of September 6 and will return the following evening on September 7. Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, has made adjustments to the schedule for both summits to facilitate Modis early return since the Indian Prime Minister is attending the Summit on a tight schedule.Leaders of the ASEAN will talk about issues ranging from maritime security to the digital economy and provide directions for future cooperation in the Summit. Moreover, officials said Modi will not hold any bilateral meetings on the margins of the two summits in view of his tight schedule.
