India will host a special meeting of foreign ministers of India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (SAIFMM) on June 16 and 17 to mark the 30^th anniversary of India-ASEAN dialogue relations and the 10^th year of the two sides’ strategic partnership.

At the 18th ASEAN-India Summit (Photo: VNA)

According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, the meeting will be co-chaired by India’s Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan.

The year 2022 has been designated as the ASEAN-India friendship year.

India and ASEAN started their dialogue relations with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992, which was elevated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995, a summit-level partnership in 2002, and a strategic partnership in 2012.

ASEAN is central to India’s Act East policy and its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific, the external affairs ministry said.

While the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is an annual event hosted by the ASEAN Chair, the SAIFMM will be the first such event to be hosted by India, and will be preceded by the ASEAN-India senior officials meeting on June 15.

Source: VNA