By IANS,
New Delhi : India and the 10-member ASEAN grouping, which together comprise a region of 1.8 billion people with a combined GDP of $3 trillion, Thursday elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership.
“We declare that the ASEAN-India Partnership stands elevated to a strategic partnership,” said a vision document released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit to mark 20 years of India’s partnership with the major regional bloc.
“We share the vision of a peaceful, prosperous and resurgent Asia, which contributes to and promotes global peace and security,” it said.
It called for “fostering greater security cooperation and information sharing” to address “traditional and non-traditional security challenges, including transnational crimes, and strengthening the effective implementation of the ASEAN-India Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism”.
The two sides also promote maritime cooperation and “strengthening cooperation to ensure maritime security and freedom of navigation, and safety of sea lanes of communication for unfettered movement of trade in accordance with international law”.
The two sides successfully concluded a free trade agreement in services and investments. The vision statement said the two sides were “committed to achieving a target of $100 billion for ASEAN-India trade by 2015, and also expect tariff-free lines to increase beyond the existing level in subsequent years”.
It said the signing of the agreements would “facilitate further economic integration between ASEAN and India, and also contribute to the overall East Asian economic integration”.
It also welcomed the efforts to strengthen cooperation in the agriculture sector and in energy as well as in working together to overcome challenges such as climate change, energy security, rapid urbanisation, natural disasters, food security, drug abuse, through both regional cooperation and participation in relevant global initiatives.