6th ASEAN-India Digital Ministers’ (ADGMIN) meeting held in Vietnam

• The 6th ASEAN-India Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN) was held virtually on January 16.

• The theme of the meeting was ‘Adaptive ASEAN: From Connectivity to Connected Intelligence’.

• The meeting was co-chaired by Amit Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, and Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam.

What is ADGMIN?

• The ADGMIN is an annual forum of telecom and digital ministers from the 11 ASEAN Member States, along with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

• The meeting deliberated on key issues aimed at strengthening regional digital cooperation, with a focus on digital inclusion and integration.

• Addressing the meeting, Amit Agrawal, reaffirmed India’s strong commitment to ASEAN-India digital cooperation.

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 11 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and Timor-Leste.

• 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.