ASEAN leaders arrive for the India-ASEAN summit in Delhi

The India-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) commemorative summit is scheduled to be held on Thursday and the head of the state of the 10 ASEAN nations have begun arriving in New Delhi today.

The summit will have leaders from Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam in India.

Marking 25 years of India's ties with the Southeast Asian bloc, the event with witnessing the highest level of participation in the backdrop of increasing Chinese economic and military assertiveness in the region.

Particularly, at a time when India is eager to change its 'Look East' policy to 'Act East' policy, the Republic Day parade on Friday will witness a record-setting presence of ASEAN leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the bilateral meetings with the ASEAN leaders with the major focus areas on trade along with infrastructural connectivity, regional development in the northeastern states and regional security.

 India-ASEAN trade for the year 2016-17 was just USD 71 billion when compared to the USD 470 billion trade with China despite having a free trade agreement in services and investments.

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani stated that India exported textiles and apparel worth USD 1,203 million to ASEAN in 2016 and imported worth USD 546 million from ASEAN. 

She further said that India, with an ability to produce a diverse range of products, has the potential to become the one-stop sourcing destination for brands and retailers of ASEAN nations.