NEW DELHI (Bernama): India must seize the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur next month as an opportunity to strengthen ties with South-East Asian nations, particularly in trade and economy.
India’s Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) Distinguished Fellow, Rajeev Kher said this, arguing that India’s heavy reliance on the West has limited its ability to leverage opportunities with the region.
Rajeev pointed out the complementarity of Indian and Asean economies.
He said amid strained ties with the United States (US) brought about by US tariffs, it is timely for New Delhi to reset its cooperation with Asean.
"The problem is that India has always been West-centric, West-oriented and when it has looked East, when it wants to review, it’s not happening,” he told visiting reporters from Asean at the RIS centre, here recently.
RIS is a think tank under India’s External Affairs Ministry specialising in policy research on international economic issues and development cooperation.
The 47th Asean Summit and related summits, scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur this October, is expected to be among the biggest gathering in recent years.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald J. Trump are among the world leaders expected to attend.
Rajeev, a former Commerce Secretary, added that New Delhi must broaden its trade outlook by factoring in ties with both Asean and China.
"You cannot look at Asean trade in isolation. Asean trade has to be looked at alongside India-China trade as well, because a lot of Chinese products flow into Asean not necessarily as circumvention, but as part of value-traded goods.
"So India must take a much larger view of its trade with Southeast Asia and China,” he said.
A total of 25 journalists from nine South-East Asian countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam are currently on a familiarisation visit to India from Sept 23 to Oct 2, organised by the Indian External Affairs Ministry. - Bernama
