Your Excellency Prof. Jayakumar,
Your Excellency Dato' Ajit Singh
and distinguished ASEAN representatives,
It is a matter of inestimable privilege, to me to be part of this pioneering effort to forge a special relationship between India and ASEAN under the auspices of the Full Dialogue Partnership. I would once again like place on record our deep appreciation of this gesture of friendship, nay kinship, by ASEAN and we hope that we will succeed in inaugurating a new and fruitful phase in the history of our relations.
2. My paricular thanks to Singapore and to you Professor Jayakumar for being our Country Coordinator. We regard you as a friend, philosopher and guide in our passage through the Full Dialogue Partnership. I would also like to thank Dato' Ajit Singh for so ably steering our successful Sectoral Dialogue interaction with ASEAN. ASEAN and India - Close neighbours
3. ASEAN and India are no awkward strangers. We have been neighbours and friends in time, space and existence for as long back as we can remember. Our habits, customs and social mores. Our myths and legends, the clothes we drape, the cuisine we savour, the art, craft and design that is our shared legacy, even the languages we speak - all bear testimony to this good neighbourliness. Then there are the pilgrim trails that wind their way through our diverse lands. Our merchants and traders too linked us together for centuries as they ventured the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal as well as over land and mountain routes to ply their wares in our thriving bazaars and towns. The foundations of the financial infrastructure which is today the basis of our market economies have been laid by our enterprising financiers. The footprints of South-East Asia are to be seen in every aspect of India's ethos.
4. The forces of history and circumstances, intermittently disturbed this closeness. Colonialism and the Cold War, despite our efforts to come together, drew artificial boundaries between us. Also in the decades after independence, India and ASEAN countries were absorbed with national reconstruction and in dealing with problem in then own sub-region. But all that is now in the past. We meet today as old friends and kindred spirits and look forward to a future of limitless cooperation.
Challenges of Full Dialogue Partnership (FDP)
5. The ASEAN decision to make India a Full Dialogue Partner is based on your far-sighted assessment about political and strategic convergence, acceleration of economic relations and their future potential, and complementarities in areas that were hitherto not evident or remained unexploited. However, the FDP poses a major challenge for policy makers, thinkers and those in the field since there is bound to be an explosion of expectations amongst our peoples about what FDP should deliver in terms of economic and political benefits. Whilst ensuring that we' collectively meet the substantive challenges, we should constantly guard against premature euphoria or injustified cynicism.
6. We, in India, certainly look at ASEAN as an invaluable asset for building the comparative advantage of our economy as well as the competitive advantage of our enterprises. ASEAN has many strength we can benefit from, whilst we too have strength that ASEAN can make use of. Thus let us follow an "enrich thy nieghbour" policy which will establish what ASEAN leaders have aptly termed "cooperative prosperity" in which there is place for growth for everyone.
7. Our AM Dialogue Partnership (FDP) is a beginning and a means, not an end in itself. It can only be as meaningful as we consciously strive to make it. Constant, alignment and reconciliation between intent and activity, between impulse and reality, and between initiation and follow through, will have to be endeavoured at all times. The FDP is an expression of political will which different actors, in their respective fields, on either side will have to make use of and give substance to. It is a diplomatic device lending urgency to the tasks of ASEAN-India economic cooperation and politico-strategic concertation.
8. The FDP is a formal institutional linkage between India on one hand and the ASEAN as a collectivity on the other. However, we realize that ASEAN is more than the sum of its part and that it is progressing as a regional cooperation grouping. Therefore, we will have to carefully modulate our ASEAN engagement at the bilateral as well multilateral levels and deepen our understanding of and interact with individual countries as well as ASEAN institutions and mechanisms.
9. Although we have been initiated into the ASEAN way through three years of Sectoral Dialogue interaction, we look forward to further explorations into its mystique. We are confident that with our common traditions of Ahimsa, Panchsheela and Samanvaya, of tolerance and gentleness, we can slip into the ASEAN culture easily. Pragmatism, cohesion performance orientation and consensus building are important traits in the evolving ASEAN personality. India values these traits and you will not find any let or hindrance in our desire and ability to pursue cooperation with ASEAN efficiently, necessary coherence and down the line implementability.
10. Despite the advantage of cultural closeness and understanding that India and ASEAN have, there are bound to be some differences-systemic or attitudinal-which either side may encounter in effectively realising Indo-ASEAN cooperation. Thus for example, you may find political processes in India pluralistic and diffused. You may also occasionally get exasperated by the time taken by our democratic, legal, as well as public opinion processes. However, I would urge you not to generalise your individual experiences or rush to conclusions on the feasibility of mutually beneficial Indo-ASEAN projects. Instead we would like you to focus on the India advantage with its high returns, its checks and balances, surety of the legal system, transparency and accountability of Government, policy continuity on key issues and the fact that our State and local Governments as much as the Central Governments have increasingly attuned themselves to the measurements of global interaction, particularly with our South-East Asian friends.
11. A key objective of India and ASEAN should be to move from derivative to a direct relationship so that there are no distortions, no misperceptions, no ignorance and no intermediation. This will call for a major information gathering and dissemination excercise on an ASEAN-India module in terms of existing links and future prospects. It will involve building new contituencies - economic, political, social and cultural in our countries. It means developing in the ASEAN tradition, a degree of informality, familiarity, understanding and "comfort levels" among our political leaders, officials, business persons, academics, NGOS, media and most of all, our youth.
Policy Convergence
12. I would like to assure our ASEAN friends of India's commitment to achieve rapid economic growth through targeted involvement of foreign capital, technology, goods and services. The Common Minimum Programme of the new Government represents the consensus in India on the continuation of economic reforms. In some areas the programme goes further by setting higher targets (US$ 10 billion a year in FDI, 70% rate of economic growth, 12% rate of industrial growth annually). It provides for greater incentives to foreign investment in areas such as infrastructure in particular by seeking to put in place transparent regulatory framework so as to impart certanty and facilitate such flows. Liberalisation is to go beyond organised trade and industry and cover agriculture and agro-processing. The Government is to continue the process of reforming and restructuring the financial sector as well as the public sector. the goal of rationalizing India’s tariffs is to be maintained. However, as is the case everywhere else where this has happened, the process will be calibrated keeping in view the larger interest of India. Political, administrattive and economic decentralisation of India is to be given a fillip. All this reinfrce our trade and investor friendly and outward looking profile.
13. We look to ASEAN to participate in the accelerated economic reconstruction and development of India to mutual benefit. Whilst no economic models can be exactly replicated even if they relate to the same continent, the conviction in India is growing among our leaders, the intellegentsia and even in popular perception that we could profit from the successful growth and developmental experience and model of South-East Asia and ASEAN. We would like regular and frequent interaction among our policy makers and experts on macro-economic policy aspects, on social policy issues, on the most effective ways of mobilising capital and resources, particularly in infrastructure. We want to closely consult with ASEAN on multinational economic issues.
14. The Full Dialogue Partnership gives us the Privileges and opportunity of wide ranging and all inclusive cooperation with ASEAN. We would like to propose that to the four important and broad-scope sectors of cooperation covered by our Sectoral Dialogue Partnership - trade, investment, science and technology and tourism, we add two other key sectors -infrastructure and human resources. Even as we make more profound and meningful our interaction with ASEAN in the four areas we could look at the infrastructure and human resource aspect whilst addressing each of these sectors, since they are not only vital but also represent elements of complementarity between India and ASEAN and are a priority for our respective countries.
Action Agenda On Trade And Investment
15. In the area of trade and investment, considerable ground work has been done by the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership process. Action Plans and business agenda have been drawn up with the involvement of the ASEAN-India Business Council.
What remains is the difficult tasks of translating this know-why and know-how into action. In doing this we would suggest immediate and long-term plans for institutioal and programmatic interaction be adopted and implemented through the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) that has been set up under the full dialogue Partnership. We should target a trade turn over of at least $ 15 billion by 2001 and we expect ASEAN to be a major investor, especially in the infrastructure sector in India. We ourselves give high priority to our enterprises investing in ASEAN and have liberalised norms in this regard.
16. Priority should be given to establishing linkages between informatic networks in India and the ASEAN, in developing valuie added databases on realisable trade and investment opportunities, and in arranging buyer seller meets and promotional programmes. We would particularly commend that our trade fair organisers mutually provide favourable terms for participation of Indian and ASEAN companies and we should plan for an ASEAN fair in India or a ‘Made in India’ fair that would tour ASEAN countries and for giving partner country status in prestigious trade related events that are held regularly in our countries. Consultation on customs procedures would facilitate trade flows as would structured cooperation in standards and quality conformance, metrology and ISO-9000 and 14000 certification. This would help achieve mutual recognition and smooth and beneficial alignment to international standards. The ASEAN-India Business council will have to be activated and given political support and encouragement to launch aggressive programmes to brand image India in ASEAN and ASEAN in India and to execute high impact trade and investment projects which have a strong demonstrative and catalytic effect.
17. All policy support and focussed business orientation should be given to increasing ASEAN-India trade and investment in thrust areas including where possible through weighhtage or a package approach or even ‘green channel’ consideration. Institutionally, we need to provide back-up and stimulus. It will be, useful to establish a Working Group on Trade and investment under the aegis of the Joint Cooperation Committee. We could envisage a linkage between AFTA and India for pursuing specific programmes of trade facilitation. Interaction betwem the ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and quality (ACCSQ) and Indian counterparts could be slotted. Connectivity between ASEANWEB and Indian trade and investment databases and networks could be immediately established. Let us speed up the conclusion of BIPAs. Further, we would like to be guided by the ASEAN on how direct linkages can be established between Indian institutions and professional bodies in these areas and ASEAN-wide inter- governmental bodies and business associations. There is also scope for more active participation in government rocurement and tendering. ASEAN participation in Indian EPZs, technology and industrial parks should be promoted, Indian enterprises in turn would like to engage in the sub- and supra-ASEAN economic projects sush as Growth Triangles, the Mekong Basin development cooperation initiative and the Asia-Europe railway.
18. There are a number of trade and investment sectors both sides can profitably focus on. These include petroleum and natural gas (prospecting, development and trade), railways (constructinn projects and equipment), civil aviation (infastructure and augmentation of services), shipping and Ports (infastructure, collaboration in increasing services including to third countries), power and telecommunication (infrastructure projects, consultancy and equipment), information technology (hardware, software, human resources), agro-based industries (fisheries, horticulture, food processing, marketing), financial services (establishment of banks, participation in money markets, institutional linkages) and manpower resources. Areas which hold high promise for advantageous mutual ssourcing have been identified and include chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, automotives, engineering goods, textiles and clothing, game and jewellery, consumer goods, petroleum products, minerals and ores, machinery, medical instruments, oil and oil products, leather and leather products, and iron and steel products.
Science & Technology Cooperation
19. Science & technology cooperation between India and ASEAN has got off to a productive start with both sides convinced of its merit and sustaibability. The three leading edge areas of advance materials, bio-technology and information technology, are those where India has R&D strenghts and is willing to join with ASEAN to commercialise these technologies. R&D and techno-economic work as well as key projects are being launched in these areas on a cooperative basis. Under the FDP, we will deepen interaction in the existing three areas. whilst also looking at new areas of S&T cooperation with great potential like non-conventional energy resources, aspects relating to design engineering and automation industry, space and satelite technologiesand defence research. Given the centrality of S&T cooperation in our FDP with ASEAN, we would suggest setting up a Working Group on Science & Technology so that we can ensure smooth and expeditions implementation of cooperation plans in this area.
20. Moreover, we would like to place at the disposal of our ASEAN friends our skills in the area, of informatics. I would like to specially offer for your consideration, our setting up on a government-to-government or joint sector basis, an ASEAN-India Informatics Centre. The Centre to be located in an ASEAN country would provide training in state-of the art technologies relating to computers and informatics to ASEAN students. WE have prepared a preliminary blue print for such a project which we will put before you for consideration.
Tourism, Cultural and Intellectual Cooperation Programmes
21. Tourism is in area of natural affinity and one which gives India reason to seek cooperation and inspiration from ASEAN. There are ways we can link up into tourist circuits. We can provide destinations similar to ASEAN but also uniquely Indian our tourism infrastructure. We would push for networking and joint marketing by our travel trade (ASEANTA and TAA) and we could profit from human resource building in this area. Tourism is an effective way of promoting people-to-people contact and increasing business travel and commercial spin offs. We should, therefore, aim at facilitating visas and other procedures for such flows.
22. There is also considerable scope for development cooperation between India and ASEAN countries as well as with the South-East Asia 10. Our Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) will be available to our ASEAN friends, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and we in turn would like to benefit from the unquestioned expertise that ASEAN itself has developed in several areas.
23. The tremendous cultural capital that India and ASEAN have invested in each other over centuries has not been used to complement and emblish our substantive economic and political relations. This must change. We must reactive cultural agreements that we have with ASEAN countries. We must, in the next four years, undertake both high-profile episode cultural initiatives like Festivals of India and ASEAN as well as establish more durable institutions for continuous cultural osmosis through setting up India Centres in ASEAN countries and ASEAN Centres in India on the model of the Nehru Centre we have in the UK, for example. And in the matter of culture, we must emphasise the classical as much as the popular, modern manifestation of it-in music, films and television programmes.
24. There has been a hiatus in Indo-ASEAN academic and intellectual contact. This is fortunately changing as each side is getting sensitised to the intellectual rationale of contemporary ASEAN-India partnership. We wish this trickle of intellectual interest to become a flood and are looking at several proposals including establishment of Chairs in universities, student and faculty exchange schemes between centres of educational excellence, schilarships and fellowship. To begin with, we would like to launch an ASEAN-India lecture series which would prepare the ground for the setting up of an Eminent Persons Group (EPG). Media is critical to our and we have to increase our contacts and cooperation in this area involving both print and audio-visual media.
Larger Vision of FDP
25. We look to the FDP as a window to our progressive participation in other ASEAN-related fora such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) as we are inalienable part of the Asia Pacific economic and strategic zone. Pending a moratorium on new membership in APEC, we have sought to participate in three Working Groups of participation and eventual membership. On ASEAM too, we hope to be involved in the processes leading up to the second ASEAM Summit to be held in London in 1998.
26. True friendship, especially among nations, is a plant of gradual growth even when it is propelled, as in the case of ASEAN and India by the forces of nature, geography and economics. We will therefore, need to nurture this plant carefully, fertilize it with political will, sustain it with the water of economic interaction and provide it the air of mutual understanding and space to grow. We are today the sixth largest by 2020. But this aspiration can only be realised and advanced as South-East-Asia maintains the tempo of its economic renaissance and growth. Together we can be a dynamic, positive and mighty force in the unfolding of the 21st Century.