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India inaugurates ASEAN mission
Expanding outreach: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (center) shakes hands with ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh (second right) during the inauguration of Indiaâs diplomatic mission to ASEAN in Jakarta on Thursday
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span class="inline inline-center">Expanding outreach: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (center) shakes hands with ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh (second right) during the inauguration of India's diplomatic mission to ASEAN in Jakarta on Thursday. They are flanked by the Foreign Ministry's Director General for ASEAN Cooperation I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja (far left), Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Gujrit Singh (second left) and Indian Ambassador to ASEAN Suresh K. Reddy (far right). Sushma was in town for the Asian-African Conference on April 23. JP/Dylan Amirio
India officially opened its diplomatic mission to ASEAN in Jakarta on Thursday, with aims to reorient its partnership with the region to make it more pragmatic and action-based.
The inauguration was attended by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, along with ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh and the Foreign Ministry's Director General for ASEAN Cooperation, I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, all of whom highlighted the importance and vitality of India's partnership with the region.
'ASEAN lies in the core of India's foreign policy. We aim to play a more proactive role in the region, strengthening collaboration in trade, investment, security and connectivity,' Sushma said at the inauguration ceremony on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Minh added that since 1992, India had forged one of the most dynamic and strongest relationships with ASEAN, in socio-cultural and economic terms, and praised the continual efforts to maintain that relationship.
'Setting up this mission is a symbol of the firmer commitment to strengthening our partnerships,' Minh said.
Adding to that, Agung commented that while the relationship between ASEAN and India had strengthened in the past few years, he reiterated that much more still needed to be explored.
Agung voiced his optimism toward greater cooperation between the two parties beyond 2015, as the mission would strengthen India's Look East policy.
According to ASEAN data, India's trade figures to the region reached US$67,861,891 in 2013.
Sushma's visit came on the heels of the Asia-Africa Conference that took place in Jakarta between April 22 and April 23. She attended the conference as a replacement for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was unable to attend due to a domestic issue in India.
The Indian Mission to ASEAN previously held a soft opening on April 13, hosted by Indian Ambassador to ASEAN Suresh K. Reddy.
