PM Modi and 13th ASEAN-India Summit in Malaysia
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressed the ASEAN Business Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 21, 2015 where he said the "21st century belongs to Asia." He also held bilateral talks with Chinese and Japanese counterparts during the ASEAN summit in Malaysia.
At the ASEAN summit, Prime Minister Modi said: "We meet at a time of multiple global challenges: economic uncertainties, political turmoil and security threats. In this difficult moment, India and ASEAN are two bright spots of optimism."
Talking about India, the Prime Minister said; "The scale of transformation in India is vast and the size of its economic opportunities is huge." He added; there is a welcoming business environment which is reflected in the sharp jump in India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business." And, we will continue with our reforms with speed and boldness." PM Modi asserted.
India, which shares both land and maritime boundaries with ASEAN will continue to deepen bilateral security partnerships with ASEAN and with other EAS partners as outlined by PM Modi.
"We will remain active participants in the ASEAN-led security dialogue and cooperation forums," Modi said asking for early conclusion of a balanced and broad-based Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Talking about ASEAN's economy, PM Modi said, it continues to forge ahead with dynamism and energy and added that he has no doubt that it will reinforce prosperity for India's 1.9 billion people.
ASEAN is India's fourth largest trading partner and India is the sixth largest trading partner for the ten members grouping.
Prime Minister said, connectivity is the pathway to shared prosperity between India and ASEAN and in this regard the Trilateral Highway project is making good progress and should be completed by 2018.
PM Modi announced that he will enlarge the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund from the current one million U.S. dollars to 5 million U.S. dollars.
The Prime Minister also sounded about India's intention to set up an ASEAN-India Innovation Platform to facilitate commercialization of low cost technologies, technology transfer and collaborative R&D projects.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, Indian Prime Minister met the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Li Keqiang and reviewed the global scenario with regard to the economic slowdown, climate change and international terrorism.
The Chinese Premier observed that India had maintained its growth momentum despite the slowdown. Both sides also reviewed the preparations for the CoP-21 conference in Paris. PM Modi briefed the Chinese Premier on the solar alliance initiative, and invited China to join it.
India and China agreed that terrorism is the biggest challenge, and the international community must come together to counter it.
Bilaterally, both sides discussed trade and investment, with the Indian Prime Minister once again reiterating the concern over India’s large trade deficit with China. Cooperation in the area of skill development was also discussed with China.
Indian Prime Minister Modi also held bilateral talks with Japanese counterpart Mr. Shinzo Abe, during the ASEAN summit in Malaysia. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated that the India-Japan bilateral relationship has the greatest potential of any bilateral relationship across the world.
Prime Minister Modi acknowledged the Japanese Prime Minister’s vision for the bilateral relationship, and said he looks forward to the visit of PM Shinzo Abe to India. Indian Prime Minister said that Japan was partnering India in a number of initiatives such as the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), which had transformative potential.
Regional connectivity, maritime security, the upcoming CoP-21 conference, reform of the UN Security Council, and the issue of terrorism were some of the other subjects that came up for discussion with the Japanese Prime Minister.
Over all the two day stay of Prime Minister Modi in Malaysia was very fruitful. He very well resurrected India’s growing image and laid a fresh initiative of partnership with the ASEAN. He also had a wide ranging discussion with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts. There were many positives to take back home from Prime Minister’s visit to 13th ASEAN business summit in Malaysia.