3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting | 13 Feb 2023

For Prelims: Artificial Intelligence, India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023, ASEAN Declaration, Look East Policy, ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, ASEAN India Friendship Year, ASEAN-India Green Fund.

For Mains: India-ASEAN Relations, Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.

Why in News?

The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting was held recently .

  • The theme of the meeting was "Synergy Towards a Sustainable Digital Future”.

What are the Major Highlights of the Meeting?

What is ASEAN Grouping?

  • About:
    • It is a regional grouping that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation.
    • It was established in August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the founding fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
    • Its chairmanship rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.
  • Members:

How is India’s Relations with ASEAN?

  • About:
    • India and ASEAN have a long-standing and multi-faceted relationship that encompasses political, economic, cultural, and security dimensions.
  • Evolution of Bilateral Relations:
    • India-ASEAN bilateral relationship started evolving since India introduced 'Look East Policy' in 1990s.
      • This initiative was further transformed to ‘Act East Policy’ in 2014 mainly to develop economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asian countries.
    • In 1992, India emerged as a Sectoral Partner of ASEAN followed by Dialogue Partner in 1996 and a Summit-level Partner in 2002.
    • In 2009, The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) was signed and entered into force on 1 January 2010.
    • In 2015, India also set up a separate Mission to ASEAN and the East Asia Summit in Jakarta in 2015 to strengthen engagement with ASEAN countries.
    • In 2022, the ASEAN India Friendship Year was observed to commemorate the 30-year milestone of the establishment of dialogue relations between ASEAN and India, leading to the elevation of their Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
  • Other Areas of Engagement:
    • Financial Assistance:
      • India offers financial support to ASEAN countries through various channels such as the ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund, the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund, and the ASEAN-India Green Fund.
    • Connectivity:

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Prelims

Q1. Consider the following countries: (2018)

  1. Australia
  2. Canada
  3. China
  4. India
  5. Japan
  6. USA

Which of the above are among the ‘free-trade partners’ of ASEAN?

(a) 1, 2, 4 and 5
(b) 3, 4, 5 and 6
(c) 1, 3, 4 and 5 
(d) 2, 3, 4 and 6

Ans: (c)

Q2. The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as (2016)

(a) G20 
(b) ASEAN
(c) SCO
(d) SAARC

Ans: (b)

Q3. In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, an initiative of six countries, which of the following is/are not a participant/ participants? (2015)

  1. Bangladesh
  2. Cambodia
  3. China
  4. Myanmar
  5. Thailand

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1 and 3 
(d) 1, 2 and 5

Ans: (c)


Mains

Q. Evaluate the economic and strategic dimensions of India’s Look East Policy in the context of the post-Cold War international scenario. (2016)

Source: PIB