• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN comprehensive partnership and asserted that ties with the regional grouping were critical to guiding Asia's future.

• In the meeting, the leaders agreed to create a new ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2026-2030) that will guide both sides in realizing the full potential of the ASEAN-India partnership.

• Addressing the 21st India-ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Modi noted that India-ASEAN trade had doubled to over $130 billion in the past decade and announced a review of the trade in goods agreement to harness the greater economic potential of the partnership.

• He said India was commemorating the 10th anniversary of its Act East Policy, which has given new energy, direction and momentum to the historic relationship between India and the ASEAN nations.

• The 10-point plan to strengthen the India-ASEAN partnership includes celebrating the year 2025 as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism, doubling the number of scholarships at Nalanda University and providing new grants for ASEAN students at Agricultural Universities in India.

What is ASEAN?

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok by five countries —  Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

• There are currently 10 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.

• In November 2022, ASEAN announced that it has agreed in principle to admit East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, as the group’s 11th member. The half-island nation will also be granted observer status at high-level ASEAN meetings.

• The ASEAN Summit is the highest policy-making body in ASEAN comprising the heads of State or government of ASEAN member states. As per regular practice, the ASEAN Summit Meetings shall be held twice annually. 

• The first ASEAN Summit was held in Bali, Indonesia on February 23-24, 1976.

• ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region. India and several other countries, including the US, China, Japan and Australia, are its dialogue partners.

India-ASEAN relations

• ASEAN centrality has been, and will remain, an important aspect of India’s ‘Act East’ policy which is a central element in the country’s foreign policy.

• ASEAN-India dialogue relations have grown rapidly from a sectoral dialogue partnership in 1992 to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995. The relationship was further elevated with the convening of the ASEAN-India Summit in 2002 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since then the ASEAN-India Summit has been held annually.

• At the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held in December 2012 in New Delhi, the leaders adopted the ASEAN-India Vision Statement and declared that the ASEAN-India Partnership stands elevated to a ‘Strategic Partnership’. 

• In 2022, ASEAN-India relations were elevated to ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’, that is meaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial.

• India’s bilateral trade with ASEAN economies is expected to reach $300 billion by 2025, and it is the fifth largest trading partner for India following North America, EU, North-East Asia and GCC-West Asia.

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