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India, ASEAN cooperation key to creating prosperity in Asia
About 30 dialogue mechanisms between India and ASEAN have already been established, cutting across various sectors.
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Welcome to India: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) waves to the media as he greets President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo before a delegation-level meeting in New Delhi. Jokowi is in India to strengthen the countries’ bilateral relationship and business ties. (AP/Manish Swarup)
T
he potential for India and Indonesia/ASEAN to cooperate in the Asia-Pacific region is great. India is the biggest country in South Asia and Indonesia is the biggest country in Southeast Asia. Thus, the two countries could play significant roles in motivating cooperative relations between the countries of ASEAN/Southeast Asia and those of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)/South Asia.
In fact, India has been a “strategic partner” of ASEAN since 2012 after becoming a “sectoral partner” in 1992, a “dialogue partner” in 1996 and a “summit level partner” in 2002. India also acceded to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in October 2003. About 30 dialogue mechanisms between India and ASEAN have already been established, cutting across various sectors.
ASEAN has formed and preserved the Indonesian image as a good neighbor for regional stability. This is basically due to various Indonesian efforts to promote ASEAN efforts as well as to maintain and promote bilateral relations between Indonesia and its neighbors, among others, by formulating various agreements and solutions to various boundaries, either territorial or jurisdictional, with its neighbors.
In the Indonesian mind, ASEAN has been instrumental in promoting harmonious relations among its members. I wonder whether SAARC has also been able to play that kind of role in South Asia.
