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Community News: Indian leaders living in SE Asia to gather in Singapore
Courtesy of INDONESIA TAMIL SANGHAMIn an effort to woo 6 million Indians living in Southeast Asia, India is organizing a two-day Regional Pravasi Bharaitiya Divas (PBD) of Indian communities in ASEAN countries in Singapore from Jan 6 to 7
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Courtesy of INDONESIA TAMIL SANGHAM
In an effort to woo 6 million Indians living in Southeast Asia, India is organizing a two-day Regional Pravasi Bharaitiya Divas (PBD) of Indian communities in ASEAN countries in Singapore from Jan 6 to 7.
The main theme of the ASEAN India PBD is “Ancient Route, New Journey: Diaspora in the Dynamic ASEAN-India Partnership.”
The two-day event has a noble purpose and it is also a part of the ongoing celebrations of the 25 years of friendly ties between India and ASEAN.
“The aim is to highlight the ancient human, maritime, cultural, commercial and religious links between India and Southeast Asia,’’ Indian Ambassador to Singapore Jawed Ashraf told The Straits Times recently.
The event covers many issues and explores the potential for economic cooperation between India and ASEAN.
“The Regional PBD is a large scale event covering a wide range of sectors including political relations, economic and investment, tourism and culture, connectivity, start-ups, S&T, etc. PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) delegations from all ASEAN countries, including ministers, eminent personalities, business and sociopolitical leaders are participating in the event,” India’s External Affairs Ministry said in a press release recently.
Several prominent Indian community leaders, including Poonam Sagar (India Club) and Amol Titus (IndonesiaWise) of Indonesia, will be attending the PDB. Around 2, 500 people from all over the world, including leaders of Indian communities in Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam will attend the event.
The Indian Diaspora, the second biggest after the Chinese, consists of 25 million people, including around 6 million from Southeast Asia. According to various estimates, Indonesia has around 125,000 Indians — those who constitute Indian passport holders and people of Indian origin.
The 2018 PBD will be inaugurated by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday. Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean will also attend the event.
Surprisingly, Singapore has several ethnic Indians as ministers like Foreign Minister Vivian Bealakrishnan and Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran.
Besides Singapore’s ministers, India’s Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Nitin Gadkari, Andhra Pradesh province’s Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, top businesspeople, artists, journalists, scholars, historians and IT experts will speak at various panels of the PBD 2018.
India became an ASEAN dialogue partner in 1992. The friendship was elevated to summit level in 2002 and to a strategic partnership in 2012.
During the last 25 years of friendship, India’s two-way trade with ASEAN surged to US$56.4 billion in 2016 from a mere $2.9 billion in 1993. More than 3 million Indians visit ASEAN countries every year.
India will be hosting ASEAN leaders to celebrate 25 years of friendship on Jan. 26. Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will attend the India-ASEAN Summit in New Delhi. Being India’s biggest trading partner in ASEAN, Indonesia has been enjoying a huge trade surplus for several years. For example, Indonesia posted a record $7.2 billion of trade surplus with India in 2016 and its two-way trade was $13 billion.
