ASEAN Applauds India’s Strong Support and Commitment to Community-Building

Jakarta – ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn praised India’s unwavering support for ASEAN Centrality and its consistent efforts in community-building during a meeting with Srinivas Gotru, India’s newly-appointed Ambassador to ASEAN, on Wednesday.

Ambassador Gotru officially assumed his role by presenting his Letter of Credence to the ASEAN Secretary General at the organisation’s headquarters.

Congratulating Gotru on his appointment, the Secretary General affirmed the ASEAN Secretariat’s commitment to closely collaborate with him and the Indian Mission in Jakarta to further enhance the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

"Secretary-General Dr. Kao commended India’s steadfast support for ASEAN Centrality and community-building efforts, as well as its active participation in ASEAN-led mechanisms and forums," the ASEAN Secretariat said in an official statement.

Ambassador Gotru reaffirmed his dedication to strengthening the ASEAN-India CSP, pledging a smooth continuation of India’s diplomatic efforts. He expressed his intent to work closely with the ASEAN Secretariat to deepen cooperation across various sectors.

Gotru succeeds Ambassador Jayant N. Khobragade, who completed his tenure on August 2. India began appointing an ambassador to ASEAN in 2010 and established a dedicated Mission to ASEAN in 2015.

India’s formal engagement with ASEAN began in 1992 as a ‘Sectoral Dialogue Partner’ and was elevated to ‘Dialogue Partner’ status in 1995. This relationship progressed from Secretary-level interactions to Foreign Minister-level meetings, eventually reaching the Summit level in 2002.

A Commemorative Summit held in New Delhi in December 2012, marking 20 years of partnership, upgraded the relationship to a Strategic Partnership. During the 25-year Commemorative Summit in January 2018, both sides agreed to focus their strategic ties on areas such as maritime cooperation.

In 2022, ASEAN and India celebrated 30 years of relations by marking it as the ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’. The highlight of the celebrations was the elevation of the Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

With inputs from IANS