INDIA ASEAN TRADE COUNCIL

INDIA ASEAN TRADE CONFERENCE

I n 2023, Pune hosted the India ASEAN Trade Conference, a significant gathering to foster economic collaboration and trade relations between India and the ASEAN countries. An integral part of this event was the appointment of Dr. Sachin Kate as the Trade Commissioner of the India ASEAN Trade Council. The conference witnessed the presence of notable figures such as Prof. Ranganathan, Consul of Myanmar, and Shailendra Goswami, a prominent businessman from Pune. The local business community actively participated in the event, reflecting the growing interest in India-ASEAN economic ties. We saw the virtual participation of the Ambassadors of Myanmar and Laos. In his role as the newly appointed Trade Commissioner, Dr. Sachin Kate extended a welcome to the delegation. The event provided a platform for the ambassadors to pledge their commitment and support towards fostering stronger ties between India and the ASEAN countries. 

INDIA-VIETNAM’S GROWING RELATIONS

H.E. Pham Sanh Chau, Ambassador of Vietnam to India extended an invitation to IETO President, Dr Asif Iqbal and IETO Director, Mr Mohit Srivastava. They participated to celebrate the Vietnam National Day Reception in New Delhi.

Vietnam has a vibrant economy and a good strategic location for Indian businesses. All the developments testify to the continuously growing relations between Viet Nam and India which have been deep-rooted in their historical and cultural linkages. These relations date back thousands of years. It is interesting to learn that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently discovered a monolithic sandstone Shiva linga from the 9th century CE, during the ongoing conservation project at My Son — a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples in Quảng Nam province in central Vietnam.

AmbPham remarked, “Though the pandemic has put off physical meetings and visits, we are still able to keep up the momentum by virtual meetings and dialogues bilaterally and multilaterally. In April 2020, our two Prime Ministers and two Foreign Ministers attended a call to discuss measures to cope with the pandemic together. We have assisted each other at the most difficult time. In August, two foreign ministers conducted the 17th meeting of the joint committee on economic, trade, science and technology cooperation virtually.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc co-chaired the 17th ASEAN India Summit in which the two sides articulated their shared interests in maintaining regional rules based order centered upon ASEAN. The leaders reviewed the status of the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership and take stock of progress made in key areas such as connectivity, maritime cooperation, trade and commerce, education and capacity building. Thanks to the support and collaboration of India, Vietnam finished the ASEAN chairmanship with multiple accomplishments. A record number of 80 agreements have been signed and approved. Under the leadership of Vietnam, ASEAN and other partners have managed to finalize the Regional Economic Cooperation Partnership, which will help foster recovery in the post-Covid period. Both the countries also cooperating closely with the United Nations and other international institutions.

He further added, “Defense and Security is a major pillar of our comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries have continued virtual meetings between two Ministers of Defense, Chief of Staff of two Navies. Hopefully, the Defense Policy Dialogue will be conducted later this month, marking a successful year for defense cooperation. One of the concrete examples of our cooperation is the launch of the first high-speed boat by L&T – an Indian company, under the Line of Credit of $100 million in one week. The two sides are also discussing to materialize the line of credit of US$500 million. The ADMM+ meeting was a success, showing its significance in the regional security architecture.”