The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary General Dr Kao Kim Hourn has said that the ten-member bloc of the Southeast Asian Nations wants India to join the RCEP for greater market access as he asserted that all partners stand to gain from the inclusive, open trade rule-based pact.
He also said that India and ASEAN have been working together towards many sectors ranging from space to investment, trade, tourism, defence sector, and counter-terrorism, among others and advocated expanding cooperation in new sectors.
Benefits of Joining the RCEP
Talking to a serious group of journalists in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on November 20, 2023, this evening, Dr Kao said that by joining the RCEP, India would benefit as the agreement would provide greater market access. He added that all trade partners will benefit from the inclusive open and trade-based rule pact.
About RCEP
The RCEP is a free trade area (FTA) consisting of 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Laos) and five of the dialogue block partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
This landmark agreement was signed in November 2020. These RCEP participating countries account for more than 30 per cent of the global GDP and 30 per cent of the world population. India pulled out from the RCEP as, according to officials, it would have resulted in fairly negative consequences for the country’s economy.
“Looking ahead of courses, we hope to continue to expand the existing area of cooperation and also deepen our cooperation,” he said, suggesting collaboration in the biotech sector, public health facility, renewable energy sector, people-to-people exchange, connectivity and in many other areas.”
India-ASEAN Collaboration
Dr Kao also said that ASEAN is a maritime community and India is a maritime nation. “We can collaborate in the maritime sector, for example, maritime cooperation, which is one of the closer four priority areas under the ASEAN lookout of the Indo-Pacific. “we stand to benefit from the partnership between ASEAN and India. At the moment, we have many mechanisms for cooperation between the two sides.
He also talked about the contribution of the ASEAN-India dialogue relations to the ASEAN community building efforts and underscored the important role of the media in encouraging greater cooperation between ASEAN and India especially in areas of public health, people to people relations, exchanges among others. He advocated a liberal aviation pact that would facilitate more direct flights between India and ASEAN nations, enhance people-to-people ties, and boost tourism.
PM Modi’s Visit to Indonesia
Recalling PM Modi’s visit to Jakarta in September 2023 to attend the ASEAN Summit, he said that the grouping highly values its partnership with India. “We were delighted to welcome PM Modi to Jakarta, where he participated in the ASEAN Summit, and we highly value our partnership with India.
During the ASEAN Summit, PM Modi presented a twelve-point proposal to expand the cooperation between India and ASEAN in a range of areas spanning from trade, connectivity, digital transformation and rules-based post-COVID World Order. PM Modi reaffirmed that ASEAN is the central pillar of India’s Act East Policy, and it fully supports ASEAN centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
On Global Conflicts
ASEAN has always been promoting a culture of dialogue, habits of consultations and constructive engagement,” he said, adding that things should be worked out through dialogue and non-use of force. He hoped that the United Nations would play a constructive role in the resolution of the conflicts around the world.
“We hope that the United Nations will play a constructive role in ongoing conflicts around the world. We believe that the UN has the means and, of course, the commitment to work towards the resolution of conflicts, particularly when we see a humanitarian tragedy unfolding before us,” he said, referring to the Israel-Palestine Conflict. ASEAN wants peace and should be given one chance, he added.
About ASEAN
The ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries, including the People’s Republic of China, the US, Japan, and Australia, are its dialogue partners. The ASEAN-India dialogues started with the establishment of the sectoral partnership in 1992.
This graduated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and a summit-level partnership in 2002. The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012. The ten member nations of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
