I.          Background

1.         ASEAN-India dialogue relations have grown rapidly from a sectoral dialogue partnership in 1992 to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995.  The relationship was further elevated with the convening of the ASEAN-India Summit in 2002 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. All these took place in a decade, which clearly signifies the importance of the dialogue partnership to ASEAN and India and the progress made in the cooperation.    

II.         Political and Security

2.         Since India became a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, the collaboration has transcended the realm of functional cooperation to cover political and security dimensions. India participates in a series of consultative meetings with ASEAN which include the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMCs) 10+1 and 10+10.  Since July 1996, India has been an active participant of the ARF. It views the ARF as valuable process in promoting stable relationships between the major powers, and as a useful complement to the bilateral alliances and dialogues between India and ASEAN Member Countries, which are at the heart of the region's security architecture. 

3.         In demonstrating its commitment and shared interest to ensuring peace, security, stability and development in Southeast Asia, India acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) on 8 October 2003 during the Second ASEAN-India Summit in Bali. At the same occasion, ASEAN and India also signed a Joint Declaration for Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism symbolising concrete initiatives to step up cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Currently, both sides are looking at developing a work plan to implement activities and projects in support of the joint declaration.

4.         Reflective of India's interest in intensifying its engagement with ASEAN, both sides are now in the process of finalising an ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity document to be signed at the Third ASEAN-India Summit on 30 November 2004 in Vientiane. This document would set out the roadmap for long-term ASEAN-India engagement, which would be executed through the implementation of a Plan of Action to be attached to the Partnership document.

Economic Cooperation

5.         Volume of trade and investment flows between ASEAN and India remained relatively low compared with other dialogue partners of ASEAN. Between 1993 and 2003, ASEAN-India bilateral trade grew at an annual rate of 11.22%, from US$2.9 billion in 1993 to US$12.1 billion in 2003. Although there are emerging positive trends in economic relations, the volume of trade and investment remains low. India accounts for less than 2.0 per cent of ASEAN’s total trade and 0.2 per cent of FDI in the region.

6.         Acknowledging this trend and recognising the economic potentials of closer linkages, both sides recognised the opportunities for deepening trade and investment ties, and agreed to sign a framework agreement to pave the way for the establishment of an ASEAN-India Free Trade Area.

7.         At the Second ASEAN-India Summit in 2003, the ASEAN-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation was signed by the Leaders of ASEAN and India.  The Framework Agreement laid a sound basis for the eventual establishment of an ASEAN-India Regional Trade and Investment Area (RTIA), which includes FTA in goods, services, and investment. The FTA in goods was scheduled to be established by 31 December 2011 for Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and India, while the deadline for the Philippines and CLMV countries is set for 31 December 2016.

8.         In March 2004, an ASEAN-India Trade Negotiations Committee (AI-TNC) was established to negotiate the implementation of all the provisions in the Framework Agreement.  To date, the AI-TNC has met six times with the last one in October 2004 in Jakarta.  ASEAN and India are now working on the provision of the Rules of Origin (ROO) and the Operational Certification Procedures for the ASEAN-India FTA.

Functional Cooperation

9.         Over the past years, ASEAN-India functional cooperation has deepened and broadened. In terms of sectors, ASEAN-India cooperation covers wide ranging areas: trade, investment, tourism, human resource development, science and technology, and people-to-people contacts. Recently, several new areas have been included in the cooperation such as health, transport and infrastructure, small and medium enterprises, information and communication technology (ICT) and agriculture.  Most of ASEAN-India cooperation projects are in the area of science and technology. Generally, all cooperation projects are funded by the ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund.

10.       ASEAN-India sectoral cooperation has been gaining strength with the establishment of working group level meetings. Currently, ASEAN and India have the following mechanisms in place:  a) ASEAN-India Working Group on Development Cooperation; b) ASEAN-India Working Group on Science and Technology; c) ASEAN-India Consultations on Tourism; d) ASEAN SME Agencies Working Group-India Consultations; e) ASEAN-India Working Group on Transport and Infrastructure; and f) ASEAN-India Telecommunications and IT Senior Officials Consultations. At the Sixth ASEAN-India Joint Cooperation Committee Meeting on 24 March 2004 in Vientiane, ASEAN and India agreed to intensify cooperation in agricultural research. To this end, ASEAN and India agreed to consider establishing another working group in agriculture. ASEAN and India are also considering the establishment of a working group on health.

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