Deepening ASEAN-India Relations and Achievements in Cooperation

Key Chapter Title List

1. Overview of ASEAN-India Relations
2. Policy Objectives
3. Institutional Mechanisms for Engagement with ASEAN
4. ASEAN-India Plan of Action and Sectoral Work Plans
5. Sectoral Dialogue Mechanisms
6. ASEAN-Led Frameworks
7. East Asia Summit Process
8. ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus
9. ASEAN Regional Forum
10. ASEAN-India Inter-Parliamentary Assembly
11. ASEAN-India Centre
12. ASEAN-India Economic Engagement

Document Introduction

This report, based on official documents, joint statements, meeting records, and trade data up to June 2025, systematically reviews and assesses the evolutionary trajectory of the strategic partnership between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India, the operational status of their multi-level cooperation mechanisms, and the depth and breadth of bilateral economic ties. Focusing on key developments following the elevation of their relationship to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" in 2022, the report details high-level exchanges, summit outcomes, and progress in specific cooperation areas, providing a solid foundation of policy and factual evidence for understanding one of the important bilateral relationships in the contemporary Indo-Pacific region.

The report begins by outlining ASEAN's organizational structure and the phased progression of India-ASEAN relations, from Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in 1992 to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022, clearly delineating the path of institutionalization and deepening strategic significance. The report focuses on analyzing the three major policy pillars driving India's engagement with ASEAN: the "Act East Policy," the "Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative," and the enhancement of physical and digital connectivity. These policy objectives are implemented through a complex and mature multi-tiered institutional mechanism, including the annual Leaders' Summit, Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Senior Officials' Meeting, and the standing ASEAN-India Joint Cooperation Committee, which form the main framework for bilateral interaction.

At the level of cooperation content, the report details numerous cooperative activities carried out under the "Plan of Action" and various sectoral work plans, and introduces four special funds established by the Indian government for this purpose. Furthermore, the report provides an in-depth analysis of sectoral dialogue mechanisms covering key areas such as economy, tourism, digital, agriculture, transnational crime, and science & technology, along with their recent meeting outcomes. Beyond bilateral mechanisms, the report also evaluates India's practice of deep integration into the ASEAN-centered regional architecture through participation in ASEAN-led multilateral frameworks such as the East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum, and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus.

Economic and trade relations are the ballast of ASEAN-India cooperation. Through detailed tabular data, the report presents the specific country composition of the bilateral trade volume reaching USD 120.87 billion in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, as well as the long-term evolution trend of trade relations since 1996. The report notes that ASEAN has been India's second-largest trading partner for two consecutive years, while also revealing the structural characteristic of bilateral investment being highly concentrated in Singapore. The report also outlines three main institutional arrangements driving economic linkages: the "ASEAN-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation" and its derived agreements on goods, services, and investment; the ASEAN Economic Ministers-India Consultations; and the ASEAN-India Business Council as a private sector feedback channel.

In summary, by integrating strategic narrative, institutional analysis, and data verification, this report presents a comprehensive picture of the increasingly close and institutionalized partnership between ASEAN and India. It not only documents cooperation outcomes but also reveals interaction patterns and underlying structural characteristics, providing a solid foundation for professional researchers and policy analysts to assess the impact of this relationship on regional order, economic integration, and security dynamics.