In News
- The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was held recently on a virtual platform.
About
- ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting is an annual meeting of telecom ministers of 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries and dialogue partner countries.
- The 3rd ministers meeting approved the India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023 which aims at capacity building and knowledge sharing in Information and Communication Technologies(ICT) areas such as Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security, Application of IoT & AI in Next Generation Smart City & Society 5.0, etc.
- The ongoing and proposed projects in ICTs will strengthen collaboration between India and ASEAN by leveraging complementary strengths of each other.
ASEAN
- It is an Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which was established in 1967 with the signing of the Bangkok declaration.
- Presently ASEAN comprises 10 member states namely Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam along with founding members of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
- It aims for intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration between its members and other countries in Asia.
- Significance of ASEAN:
- Convergence on Indo-Pacific: Engagement with ASEAN has been a critical element of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and ‘Indo-Pacific’ initiative.
- Connectivity with NE: The connectivity projects with ASEAN countries like KALADAN Multi Modal Project keep Northeast India at the center, ensuring the economic growth of the northeastern states.
- Countering China: Improved ties with the ASEAN nations would act as a counter to China’s presence in the region.
Source: IE
