India to help ASEAN nations explore linking payment systems

PTI, Vientiane: India will share its knowledge and experiences in using digital public infrastructure (DPI) such as Aadhaar and Unified Payments Interface with the ASEAN nations and explore collaboration to address diverse challenges in education, healthcare, agriculture and climate change, a joint statement said on Thursday. In the joint statement issued after the 21st India- ASEAN summit which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two sides also declared that they would explore collaboration of crossborder linkages between payment systems in ASEAN and India through innovative digital solutions.

The two sides also issued a joint statement on Strengthening the ASEAN- India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region. It reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas, including unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes. “The two Joint Statements we have adopted to strengthen digital transformation and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will lay the groundwork for our collaboration in future,” Modi said in his closing remarks at the Summit that was attended by leaders of the 10 ASEAN member nations. The India-ASEAN Summit is taking place at a time when the region is witnessing tensions between the Philippines and China over maritime issues in the South China Sea and the crisis in Myanmar, where ethnic groups are battling the military regime. India and ASEAN also extended support to the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and look forward to the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

India and ASEAN nations also agreed to explore partnerships between national agencies for fintech innovations and support digital solutions, including digital financial solutions. India's digital public infrastructure involves a triad of identity (Aadhaar), payments (UPI) and data management (DigiLocker). The healthcare sector initiatives include Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and e-sanjeevani for telemedicine among others. The two sides said they intend to expand cyber security cooperation to support the digital economy. “As we gradually move towards growing digital economies, we shall endeavour to ensure the security and resilience of digital infrastructure and services,” the joint statement said. The two sides also agreed to support collaboration in the development of necessary knowledge, skills, infrastructure, risk management frameworks and policies to effectively and responsibly leverage AI technologies and applications to harness the potential of AI advancements. The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.