The 26th ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting was held in New Delhi today. Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar co-chaired the meeting with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Albert Chua. Singapore is the Country Coordinator of India for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. The meeting was attended by Senior Officials and representatives of all ASEAN Member States and Timor Leste which holds Observer Status in ASEAN.

During the meeting, the gamut of ASEAN-India relations was reviewed across the three pillars of engagement – political-security, economic and socio-cultural. The Senior Officials also discussed the implementation of the Prime Ministers’ 12-Point Proposal announced at the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta last year to further strengthen the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Views on regional and global issues of mutual interest were also exchanged.

Preparations for the ASEAN-India Summit to be held later this year in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic were also discussed. The ASEAN side appreciated India’s continued support to ASEAN and the ASEAN-led architecture in the region.