ASEAN: PM presents 12-point proposals

NT Bureau, Agencies

Jakarta: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented a 12-point proposal to expand cooperation between India and 10-nation ASEAN in a range of areas such as connectivity, trade and digital transformation even as he called for building a rules-based post-COVID world order.

Establishment of a multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor linking South East Asia, India, West Asia and Europe and offering to share New Delhi's digital public infrastructure stack with ASEAN partners are among the proposals announced by Modi at the annual ASEAN-India summit in this Indonesian capital.

In a joint statement on maritime cooperation, the two sides agreed to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership with concrete actions through practical implementation of the 'Plan of Action' to implement the ASEAN-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity.

A separate joint statement on food security said the two sides decided to strengthen cooperation on food security and nutrition through promoting mutual trade and investment.

The 12-point proposals also included the prime minister's call for collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation as well as to raise issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.