Delhi Dialogue VII on ‘ASEAN-India: Shaping the Post 2015 Agenda’

February 23, 2015

New Delhi: The seventh edition of India-ASEAN Delhi Dialogue, an annual Track 1.5 forum for discussing politico-security and economic issues between ASEAN and India, is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on 11-12 March 2015. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘ASEAN-India: Shaping the Post 2015 Agenda’.

Since its first edition in 2009, Delhi Dialogue has evolved into a useful forum for brainstorming on all aspects of the ASEAN-India relationship and has contributed immensely towards strengthening of the Strategic Partnership established in 2012. With domestic imperatives of resilience converging with regional imperatives of peace and stability, the members of ASEAN and India now look to expand areas of cooperation.

Southeast Asia has witnessed political, economic and socio-cultural ferment in the recent past. Traditional security priorities compete with the non-traditional security requirements. Equally, the rise of some regional powers and the tension in the South China Sea could inhibit steady growth. Some of the security challenges that ASEAN faces are common to India too. The evolution of norms and institutions and an inclusive Asian security architecture are common aspirations of India and ASEAN and so is the goal of shared prosperity. A stable regional security and economic architecture would require taking on board genuine concerns of all stakeholders.

It is significant that the ASEAN-India partnership that has progressed over the last 23 years is destined to play a crucial role in shaping ASEAN’s post-2015 agenda. Both, ASEAN and India need to pay greater attention to synergising development of their human resources pool through cooperation in education and skill development fields, improve connectivity by removing bottlenecks, enhance economic engagement through integrating regional production networks, investments and creation of value chains, and promoting social and cultural links among their people.

It is in this back ground that Delhi Dialogue VII will focus on strengthening the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in the long run.

DD VII will also have a dedicated Business Session with panel discussions on ‘ASEAN Economic Community: Benefits for the ASEAN and Indian Industry’. The focus will be on ‘Make in India’ campaign of Government of India and ‘Trade in Services as driver for future economic cooperation: Views from India & ASEAN’.

The Academic Session will cover a wide range of discussions on subjects such as Maritime Security, Cyber Security, Skill Development, Knowledge Economy, Cultural Linkages, Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Energy and the Way Forward for ASEAN-India relations. All these issues focus on strengthening the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in the long run.

The Dialogue is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, GoI, in partnership with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA); the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI); Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA); the Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore (ISAS); the SAEA Group Research, Singapore; the Institute of Strategic and International studies, Malaysia (ISIS); ASEAN-India Center, New Delhi; the Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta; the Institute of Security and International Studies, Thailand and supported by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER); the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM); All India Association of Industries (AIAI),Mumbai; and Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Kolkata.