Page 5 - Asean

Imports of paper, paperboards rise 37% in Apr-Dec FY23, says IPMA

Imports of paper and paperboards have increased by 37 per cent to around 1.47 million tonnes in April-December this fiscal, which have hit the local paper mills, an industry body said on Sunday. Paper and paperboard imports were around 1.07 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) said while citing DGCI&S data. The import of the commodity had seen a 25 per cent jump to 1.44 million tonnes in FY23 in volume terms and April-December figures have crossed that also, IPMA said in a statement. Imports of paper and paperboard in huge volumes and worth Rs 10,000 crore in nine months are impacting the Make-in-India drive as well as depriving employment to 5 lakh committed farmers who are aligned with the domestic Paper Industry through agro, farm forestry, IPMA President Pawan Agarwal said. There is more than adequate domestic capacity in India to manufacture almost all grades of paper and such indiscriminate ...

8 sub-committees reviewing free trade agreement between India, Asean

Eight sub-committees have been constituted under the India-Asean free trade agreement joint committee for undertaking negotiations on different areas related to the review of the pact, an official statement said on Monday. India hosted the third meeting of the committee for undertaking the review here from February 16-19. The AITIGA (Asean-India trade in goods agreement) was signed in 2009. In September 2022, both sides tasked the AITIGA Joint Committee to undertake the review to make the agreement more trade facilitative and mutually beneficial. "A total of eight sub-committees have been constituted under the AITIGA Joint Committee for undertaking negotiations on different policy areas related to the agreement," the commerce ministry said. The first two meetings of the joint committee were held in May and August last year. In the meeting, the ministry said, the sub-committees reported the progress and outcome of their discussions related to market access, rules of origin and ...

Hope to work on untapped areas of cooperation: Asean SG during India visit

Maritime cooperation was one of the key focus areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) that was adopted in June 2019

Indonesia election: Unofficial vote count points to first round Prabowo win

Prabowo had about 59 per cent of votes according to three pollsters, based on ballots counted in a sample of voting stations nationwide

Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn arrives in India on five-day visit

This is Kao Kim Hourn's first official visit to India since assuming office in January 2023, spanning from February 11 to 15

The importance of Asean for India

The evolving regional trade context should be the primary guiding factor for the AITIGA review

Classic Legends charts revival plan; to focus more on Asean markets

The company revealed that they are now targeting the Asean markets, starting with the Philippines

India-Asean FTA review: Talks for 'modern' pact scheduled for Feb

For a long time, India has been worried about the routing of goods from third countries through non-Asean countries by taking the duty advantages of the agreement

Japan, ASEAN bolster ties at summit focused on security amid China tensions

Leaders from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, marking their 50th anniversary of friendship, were meeting at a special summit on Sunday and expected to adopt a joint vision that emphasises security cooperation amid growing tensions with China in regional seas. Ties between Japan and ASEAN used to be largely based on Japanese assistance to the developing economies, in part due to lingering bitterness over Japan's wartime actions. But in recent years the ties have focused more on security amid China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, while Japan's postwar pacifist stance and trust-building efforts have fostered friendlier relations. Based on our strong relationship of trust, it is our hope that Japan and ASEAN will bring together their strengths and find solutions in an era of compound crises that are difficult for any one country to solve, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a speech on Saturday night at the State Guest House in Tokyo. As we co-creat

Ahead of India-Asean FTA review: Industry flags spike in import of 38 items

Import of as many as 38 items from Asean members sees a sharp surge in H1FY24

India-Singapore FTA , as a part of Asean needs to be studied together: GTRI

Think-tank GTRI on Sunday suggested that the government study the bilateral free trade agreement with Singapore and as part of the Asean bloc together while reviewing its trade pact with the 10-nation grouping. Singapore is a member of 10-nation Asean bloc with which India has a free trade agreement in goods since 2010. Separately, India also implemented a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore in 2005. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also suggested a similar exercise with Thailand, another member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). India signed a limited free trade pact with Thailand in 2006. These suggestions assume significance as India and Asean have agreed to review their trade pact and are aiming to conclude the exercise by 2025. Asean members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Out of these, five countries - Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand

India, Asean launch 5-day millets fest to raise awareness, create market

India and ASEAN Wednesday launched a five-day Millets Festival here in the Indonesian capital, a move aimed at raising awareness and creating a market for millets and millets-based products among the 10-member bloc. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) participated in the ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit on September 7. During the ASEAN-India summit, one of the joint statements adopted was about food security," India's Ambassador to ASEAN Jayant Khobragade said. "In two months we are having the Millet festival which also covers food security. That is how effectively our comprehensive strategic partnership is working, he said. Describing Millets as one of the important elements for ensuring food security, he said this was very well in the overall framework of the ASEAN-India relationship. There is a lot of interest. For this millet festival, we have representation not only from Indian farmers and industrialists but also from ASEAN member states, he added. Khobragade also ...

ASEAN defence chiefs call for Gaza ceasefire; struggle to tackle Myanmar

Southeast Asian defence ministers called Wednesday for the fighting in Gaza to cease immediately and for the world to collaborate on setting up humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza, but they struggled on how to address the prolonged civil strife in Myanmar. The Myanmar crisis was high on the agenda when defence chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. The 10-nation bloc includes Myanmar, but its defense minister was again barred from attending this week's meetings due to the military government's failure to comply with a five-point emergency plan drafted to ease the violence. We are saddened with a deteriorating situation in Myanmar, Indonesia's Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said in an opening speech. Indonesia encourages other ASEAN member states to support Myanmar to find a peaceful and durable solution to the current situation. ASEAN has been trying to enforce the plan it forged with Myanmar's top general in 2021, which calls f

ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus: Rajnath to visit Indonesia

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay a two-day visit to Indonesia to attend a meeting of a grouping comprising 10-nation ASEAN and some of its dialogue partners that is expected to deliberate on evolving regional security scenarios. Singh is likely to present India's views on dealing with major security challenges facing the region at the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus). ADMM-Plus is a platform comprising 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its eight dialogue partners -- India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. "Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Indonesian capital Jakarta from November 16 to 17 to attend the 10th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)," the defence ministry said. "During the meeting, which will take place on November 16, the defence minister will address the forum on regional and international security issues," it said in a ...

PM Modi proposes economic corridor between Asean & Europe through India

PM Modi tells East Asia Summit that free and open Indo-Pacific is in everyone's interest

Asean summit: Indonesia's leader calls for resolving global conflicts

Indonesia's president issued a stark warning Thursday after wrapping up a summit of Southeast Asian countries that was joined by China, the United States and Russia, saying we will be destroyed unless conflicts are resolved. The three-day summit by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with Asian and Western counterparts in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta spotlighted major conflicts in Asia with calls for peaceful resolutions and restraint. Myanmar's bloody civil strife and the South China Sea territorial disputes, which have dragged on without any solution in sight, figured high on the agenda. Concerns were also raised over the U.S.-China rivalry in the region, although no ne was specifically called out as Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris were in attendance. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also took part. "I can guarantee you, if we are not able to manage differences, we will be destroyed, Indonesian President Jok

PM Modi presents 12-point draft for strengthening India-Asean cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation in areas like digital transformation, trade and economic engagement while addressing contemporary challenges like terrorism and deepening the strategic partnership. Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit here in the Indonesian capital. Secretary-General of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Dr Kao Kim Hourn also attended the summit. Two joint statements -- one on Maritime Cooperation, and the other on Food Security were also adopted at the summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. At the summit, Prime Minister Modi held extensive discussions with ASEAN partners on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course, it said. The prime minister reaffirmed ASEAN's centrality in the Indo-Pacific region and highlighted the synergies between India's Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPO

PM Modi returns to India after attending Asean-India, East Asia Summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in India after his "very short but fruitful" visit to Indonesia where he attended the 20th ASEAN-India and 18th East Asia Summits

PM Modi presents 12-point proposals to expand India-Asean cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented a 12-point proposal to expand cooperation between India and 10-nation ASEAN in a range of areas such as connectivity, trade and digital transformation even as he called for building a rules-based post-COVID world order. The establishment of a multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor linking South East Asia, India, West Asia and Europe and offering to share New Delhi's digital public infrastructure stack with ASEAN partners are among the proposals announced by Modi at the annual ASEAN-India summit in this Indonesian capital. The 12-point proposals also included the prime minister's call for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation as well as to raise issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora. Two joint statements -- one on maritime cooperation, and the other on food security were also adopted at the summit. In his address at the summit, Modi said that progress towards a free

India believes code of conduct for S China Sea should be effective: PM Modi

In his remarks at the East Asia Summit on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region is in the interest of all