Singapore (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, and IndianMinister of State for External Affairs Vijay Kumar Singh co-chaired the ASEAN-IndiaForeign Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on August 3 within the framework of the51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

Minh and Singh reviewedthe ASEAN-India partnership after the summit commemorating the 25 years of tiesbetween the two sides in New Delhi in January 2018.

They showed delight atthe progress in the implementation of agreements reached during the summit aswell as the outcomes of the Plan of Action in the 2016-2020 period withspecific activities in various fields from politics-security to economy, culture-society,and people-to-people exchange.

ASEAN countries laudedIndia’s strengthening of its “Look East” policy aiming to foster partnershipwith the association and the region, hailing the role and contributions ofIndia to peace, stability and cooperation in the region, and highly valuingIndia’s support to the ASEAN’s central role as well as active engagement in regionalcooperation forums chaired by the ASEAN.

The Indian sideaffirmed that ASEAN is one of the key pillars in its external policies, and animportant contact point between the Indian Ocean and Pacific regions. The countrycommitted to promoting close ties with the ASEAN and actively supporting thebloc in building its community and strengthening regional connectivity.

Regarding orientationsto promote the ASEAN-India relations in the coming time, the ministers agreedto forge stronger comprehensive cooperation in maritime cooperation; trade and investmentfelicitation with a target of 200 billion USD in 2025; and connectivity betweenthe two regions in both infrastructure and human.

The two sides will expandaffiliation in creative areas such as information technology, digital economy,smart urban development, while working more closely in education, culturalexchange, people-to-people contact, thus strengthening mutual understanding.

The ministers agreedto name 2019 the ASEAN-India Tourism Year.

On the regional andinternational maters, ASEAN and India shared concerns about developments in theEast Sea with militarization activities eroding trust and harming peace andstability in the region.

They highlighted thesignificance of maintaining peace, stability, maritime and aviation security,safety and freedom in regional seas, including the East Sea, while underscoringthat all disputes must be settled through peaceful measures in line withinternational law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)1982.

They showed hope for thefull implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the EastSea (DOC), and encouraged efforts to build an effective and binding Code ofConduct in the East Sea (COC).

On the occasion of Vietnam’shanding over of the role as the coordinator for ASEAN-India relations toThailand, the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs lauded Vietnam’s activeand effective efforts in promoting the ASEAN-India ties over the past threeyears, especially in the holding of the summit commemorating the 25 years of tiesbetween the two sides in New Delhi as well as promoting initiatives in cooperationin maritime economy.

Minh stated that Indiaand ASEAN have shared long-lasting trust and ties, lauding India’scontributions to regional cooperation processes through forums held by theASEAN.

He also spoke highly ofIndia’s coordination with Vietnam in enhancing the ASEAN-India collaborationover the past three years, underlining that Vietnam will continue workingclosely with Thailand, the new ASEAN-India relationship coordinator, and otherASEAN countries to expand and elevate the ASEAN-India strategic partnership inthe future.-VNA