NEW DELHI, June 17 (Bernama): It is time for Asean and India elevate their strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation for peace, security and prosperity in the region and the world, said Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.
The minister in sharing this matter during the two-day Special Asean-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in New Delhi starting Thursday, said the two sides should uphold their shared values, promote dialogues, cooperation and trust building and work to limit differences and conflicts, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Realising the great potential of both sides, Son said both sides should increase mutual support in improving medical capacity and implementing the bilateral free trade agreement, while expanding collaboration in digital transformation, innovation and regional development, including the Mekong-Ganga cooperation.
He spoke highly of India’s support for Asean’s stance on the East Sea (referring to South China Sea) and called on the nation to further back the grouping’s efforts in turning the sea into peaceful, stable, cooperative and environmentally friendly waters.
The Special Asean-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting marks the 30th anniversary of the partnership between the two sides (1992-2022), during which Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar affirmed that Asean is an important pillar in India’s Act East Policy and its foreign policy at large, and is the centre of the South Asian country’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
India supports Asean’s centrality in the evolving regional architecture, attaches importance to its neighbourliness with the bloc and wishes to advance the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
The Asean ministers, for their part, shared their view on progress in the relations over the past three decades, saying India is now ASEAN’s seventh biggest trade partner with two-way trade revenue up nearly 23 times in the past 30 years. - Bernama
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