ASEAN Secretary General: India Needs to Maximize Economic Potential with ASEAN

ANTARA

ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn has emphasized the importance of enhancing the potential for economic cooperation through trade and investment with India.

Quoting an official statement received by Indonesia Window here on Saturday, Kao said that efforts to maximize the potential for economic cooperation between ASEAN and India can be done by fully and effectively utilizing ASEAN through the India Free Trade Area (AIFTA), the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

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It was noted that India’s total trade as ASEAN’s 8th largest trading partner reached USD 113.08 billion (IDR 1,768.4 trillion) and constituted 2.94 percent of ASEAN’s total trade.

Meanwhile, the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from India to ASEAN reached US$0.68 billion (Rp10.6 trillion) in 2022.

In particular, during his meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, Kao discussed the progress of the ASEAN-India dialogue in the tourism sector. The meeting noted that the number of Indian visits to ASEAN has increased significantly, reaching 2.38 million visits by 2022.

Later in the meeting with India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Kao encouraged India’s continued commitment to work closely with ASEAN through ASEAN-led mechanisms and forums and jointly respond to traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The ASEAN Secretary-General also held meetings with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, Piyush Goyal.

To advance the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the meeting emphasized the importance of expanding ASEAN-India economic cooperation and supporting a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, inclusive, fair and transparent multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Furthermore, Kao also discussed the importance of strengthening ASEAN-India cooperation in food, agriculture and forestry when he met India’s Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Arjun Munda.

He requested that both sides jointly explore opportunities and address social, economic and environmental challenges faced by both regions in achieving sustainable agri-food systems.

While through discussions with India’s Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Kao explored the potential for collaboration through either rebranding existing scholarships or establishing an ASEAN-India scholarship scheme.

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