PM Modi in Jakarta: New initiatives at Asean-India Summit, East Asia Summit
India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have announced initiatives to enhance maritime cooperation, including measures to combat piracy and illegal fishing, ensure sustainable use of marine resources, and develop marine technology. The two sides also pledged to exchange information on national policies for rice and other priority crops to strengthen food security and nutrition. In addition, they will explore synergies between connectivity initiatives and collaborate on issues such as marine debris and disaster risk reduction. The announcements were made at the Asean-India Summit in Jakarta.
India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on Thursday unveiled a slew of initiatives to bolster maritime cooperation, including measures to counter piracy and illegal fishing, ensure sustainable use of marine resources and develop marine technology.
The measures were outlined in a joint statement on maritime cooperation issued after the Asean-India Summit in Jakarta co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two sides also issued a joint statement on strengthening food security and nutrition in response to crises, which said they will exchange information on national policies for rice and other priority crops.
The joint statement on maritime cooperation includes implementation of the Asean-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity for 2021-25 and the Asean-India joint statement on cooperation on the Asean outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and strengthening cooperation on maritime safety and security through confidence-building measures and coordinating on emergency response and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
The two sides will focus on early warning systems, countering piracy, armed robbery against ships, trafficking in people and smuggling of arms and drugs, and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
They will also enhance information-sharing and capacity building in the maritime domain and promote coordination between maritime authorities and law enforcement agencies, while exploring cooperation on sustainable use of the oceans and marine resources.
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Asean and India will explore synergies between connectivity initiatives to ensure quality and resilient infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific. The two sides will also strengthen collaboration to prevent and reduce marine debris and foster engagement of relevant stakeholders to promote the blue economy.
They will also look at cooperation between national agencies in newer areas such as use of satellite data and digital tools for maritime domain awareness and disaster risk reduction.
The joint statement on strengthening food security committed the two sides to increasing efforts to sustain food supply chains despite disruptions and exchanging information on national policies for rice and other priority crops and agricultural diversity to enhance food security and nutrition.
The Asean member states and India will also collaborate on “rapid actions” to strengthen food security and nutrition in response to crises, including by ensuring unimpeded trade and flow of foodstuffs and other essential agricultural inputs, such as fertilisers, pesticides and raw materials, and enhancing market connectivity and distribution networks for food products.
The two sides will further promote efforts for public food stockholding and explore the exports of food grains from public stocks on a government-to-government basis for humanitarian purposes during crises. They will also work for long-term resilience of the agrifood system, including by strengthening regional food value chains and diversifying food sources.
Modi also participated in the East Asia Summit (EAS), which issued a leaders’ statement on promoting the region as an “epicentrum of growth”. The EAS groups the 10 Asean member states and eight dialogue partners, including India, Australia, China, Japan, Russia and the US.
The leaders committed themselves to creating an environment for enhancing cooperation in “keeping with the principles of equality, partnership, consultation, and mutual respect to continue to promote peace, security, stability, and prosperity in the region”.
They will also promote an enabling environment for peace, stability, good governance, prosperity and sustainable development through dialogue and cooperation, enhancing mutual trust and respect for international law.
The members of EAS will also strengthen economic resilience through regional economic integration, trade and investment, and accelerated inclusive digital transformation by facilitating cross-border flows of data while protecting personal information and strengthening consumer and business trust.
