Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry stated, “We have a comprehensive and engaged relationship with ASEAN.” The Minister was addressing the Inaugural Session of the ASEAN – India Business and Investment Meet and Expo being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in cooperation with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the ASEAN Secretariat in New Delhi today. According to the Minister, trade is the cornerstone of ASEAN – India relations and is also the cornerstone of India’s Act East Policy.

The Minister was of the view that India and ASEAN possess complementary  economies and there is tremendous scope to expand cooperation. In this context, he highlighted the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement that is being negotiated and stated that this agreement would enable India to integrate more closely with the region. In terms of services, he highlighted the need to enable greater mobility of manpower under Mode 4 of GATS.

He also highlighted the role of physical connectivity in bringing the two regions together and stated that the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project and the India Myanmar Trilateral Highway would help give physical connectivity the much-needed boost. He also highlighted the need for industries in both regions to organise themselves to form Regional Value Chains.

H E Mr. Lim Jock Seng, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs, Brunei pointed to three main areas for greater collaboration beween India and Brunei. These are Technology, MSMEs, and a faster conclusion to the RCEP.

H E Mr. Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister of Trade, Indonesia highlighted the need to leverage the ASEAN – India FTA better. He felt that the trade between the two regions are complementary and promotion of further trade will also galvanise job creation. 

H E U Khin Maung Cho, Union Minister of Industry, Myanmar stated that his country is emerging from various difficulties and is just opening itself to the world. He highlighted the need to promote the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Myanmar which are the backbone of all economies and play a major role in job creation.

H E Mr. Chhuon Dara, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia stated that India and ASEAN must promote a better understanding of the business conditions in each other’s regions. He also highlighted the need to stimulate jobs and growth. This would require greater investment in infrastructure through Public Private Partnerships.

H E Ms. Nora Kakilala Terado, Under Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippines, stated that India is a trusted partner for Philippines in particular and ASEAN as a whole. India and Philippines have common opportunities for cooperation in diverse sectors especially the Service oriented sectors.

H E Ms. Chutima Bunyapraphasara Hon’ble Deputy Minister of Commerce, Thailand was of the view that people to people relations form a strong foundation for ASEAN – India trade and economic cooperation. She observed that the axis of globalisation has shifted to the Indo-Pacific region and ASEAN – India partnership is a pivotal part of it.

She spoke about Thailand’s 4.0 policy which has a flagship development programme called the “Eastern Economic Corridor” which is the world’s largest Special Economic Zone including industrial clusters like smart technology. She Invited Indian industry to invest in this economic zone.

H E Mr. Cao Quoc Hung, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade, Vietnam stated that the RCEP agreement will ensure greater convergence in economic policy between the two regions. He stated that there has been significant collaboration in various sectors like energy and other primary sectors. However, strengthening the efficiency in Regional Value Chains and the creation of economic complementarities in agro-processing, renewables, etc will help further this collaboration.

Gen. (Dr.) (Retd.) V K Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs stated that greater connectivity with ASEAN will help increase its connectivity with India’s own North – East Region and greater economic integration with the neighbourhood will lead to shared prosperity.

Ms. Rita Teaotia, Commerce Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated that it was in the interest of both the ASEAN region as well as India to promote cross border trade and investment as well as participation in Regional Value Chains. She was of the view that the two regions are natural partners. She also highlighted the need to improve connectivity through the development of the 1360 km India-Myanmar-Thailand land route as well as the Trilateral Motor Vehicle Agreement.

Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President Designate, CII stated that the ASEAN region has strong consumer markets and offers a great opportunity to industry. He pointed out that the key areas of collaboration are agriculture, energy, tourism, digital connectivity, and cross-border investment. Better sea and land routes through infrastructure development will help improve collaboration in these as well as greater participation in Regional Value Chains.

New Delhi

January 22, 2018