India-ASEAN maritime connectivity needs to improve: Wadhwa

India today underlined the need for ramping up ASEAN's maritime connectivity with it, saying it was crucial to adopt an "integrated multi-modal approach" to improve transportation which will result in further enhancing economic and commercial engagements.
Speaking at a seminar on Asean-India maritime transport cooperation, Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said India and ASEAN FTA on services and investment was expected to be signed in the coming months after ASEAN countries complete their internal processes for signature.
"This will integrate an economic space of 1.8 billion people and a GDP of over USD 3.7 trillion," he said.

Identifying connectivity as one of the foremost priorities in the ASEAN-India strategic partnership, he said it was also of relevance to the maintenance of peace and security in the region.
Terming ASEAN as India's important partner, he said the goal of having an ASEAN Community by 2015 will consolidate a market of more than 600 million people and a combined GDP of USD 2.3 trillion.
"In the course of last year, India became the third partner country of the ASEAN, after China and Japan, to begin formal discussion on connectivity with the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC).

"It is a reflection of the importance of this agenda both to ASEAN countries as also India that the ACCC, in an unprecedented manner, would be holding an informal inter-sessional meeting with India when it visits New Delhi in March 2014 for Delhi Dialogue VI," the official said.

On improving maritime transport, he said Ministry of Shipping has already been asked to establish a Joint Working Group on maritime connectivity to look into various aspects of promoting maritime transport.
"In particular, we need to find ways to assure trade volumes to sustain a shipping line connecting India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam.
"The steady implementation of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway has been very visible. But India is also meeting its commitment on developing the Sittwe Port in Myanmar, as part of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project," he said.
He suggested adopting an integrated multi-modal approach to enhance maritime connectivity.

Wadhwa also referred to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's suggestion at the 11th ASEAN-India Summit in Brunei Darussalam in October last year to launch an ASEAN-India Transit Transport Agreement.