New Delhi: India fully supports a strong, unified, and prosperous ASEAN with a central role in the Indo-Pacific and both sides should identify a new set of priorities while navigating the “arduous path” arising from developments in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on June 16.
In his opening address at a special meeting of India-ASEAN foreign ministers in Delhi, Jaishankar talked about the “geopolitical headwinds” triggered by the Ukraine crisis and its knock-on effects on food, energy security, prices of fertilizers and commodities as well as logistics and supply chains.
India is hosting the two-day conclave to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The conclave is largely expected to explore ways to deal with the adverse impact of the Ukraine crisis on trade, economy, and regional security as well as to further broad-base two-way ties.
He said the ASEAN has always stood tall as a “beacon of regionalism, multilateralism, and globalization” and that it has successfully carved out a niche for itself in the region and provided the foundation for the evolving strategic and economic architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
“ASEAN’s role today is perhaps more important than ever before given the geopolitical challenges and uncertainties that the world faces. India fully supports a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN, one whose centrality in the Indo-Pacific is fully recognized,” Jaishankar said.
