The ASEAN and Indian foreign ministers agreed to work together towards establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the bloc and the South Asian country “that is meaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a press statement on June 17.
The commitment was made during the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi on June 16, which was attended by foreign minister Prak Sokhonn.
“On the future direction of ASEAN-India relations and cooperation, the ministers agreed to work jointly towards establishing ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that is meaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial, considering the vast potential of the growing relations,” the press statement said.
During the meeting, the top diplomats recognised “many achievements made in the past 30 years of fruitful cooperation and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further deepening ASEAN-India broad-based strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in the region”, it said.
Sokhonn also attended the 12th Delhi Dialogue, themed “Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific”, which touched on, inter alia, “the potentials of mutually beneficial ASEAN and India cooperation in addressing pressing challenges to sustainable development, environment, healthcare, digital connectivity, cultural linkages, cyber security, resilient global and regional value chains, trade and investment”, it added.
