India’s bilateral trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) saw 5.2 per cent growth to reach $73 billion during the April-October period this fiscal, the government informed on Saturday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on November 21, according to a release from the Ministry of Defence.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India and the ASEAN are preparing for an era of electric mobility, green shipping and green steel, and businesses on the two sides will have to adjust accordingly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed concern over ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world at the 19th East Asia Summit at Vientiane, Lao PDR and said this is not the age of war and solutions to problems cannot be found in the battlefield.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Lao PDR Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane on Friday and congratulated him on successfully hosting the 21st ASEAN-India and 19th East Asia Summits.
One basic principle that all of the stakeholders could agree on was the urgent need for further assistance to Myanmar to find peace, preferably through a process of inclusive dialogue, he noted.
China, which in February signed a proclaimed deep, strategic partnership with Russia, has not condemned President Vladimir Putin's invasion, although it has offered aid and support for Ukraine.
The geopolitical situation in Asia, as deliberations at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week confirmed, remains hostage to the rivalry between the USA and China.
Business of all sizes is having to grapple with issues ranging from rising inflation to conflict in Europe and renewed lockdowns in China. Amid these uncertainties, commerce remains an important driver of economic growth, with Standard Chartered predicting global trade will grow by 70 per cent to $30 trillion by the end of the decade.
Japan and the United States held their first strategic dialogue on Southeast Asian affairs on Wednesday, as part of broader policy coordination in an area under increasing Chinese influence.
