Jaishankar urges focus on supply chains, health, digital and climate action for India-ASEAN cooperation

New Delhi : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic has brought sharp focus on four areas for international business cooperation, including building resilient and reliable supply chains, health security, digital for development and green and sustainable recovery, which should constitute the core agenda for India and the ASEAN.

In his remarks at the inaugural session of the India ASEAN Business Summit, Jaishankar also stressed that India and the 10-member ASEAN bloc can work together more closely towards closer cooperation especially among the businesses of the two sides.

He said India, backed by reform in sectors like manufacturing, labour and ease of doing business, education and skills, “aspires to be a more effective engine of growth and a part of reliable and resilient supply chains”.

Jaishankar said the uncertainties since the beginning of 2020 due to Covid “cannot just be wished away. Nor can we assume that they are a one-time phenomenon. Therefore, we are tasked with responding to the immediate repercussions even as we are compelled to plan for the future.

“A large part of the answers – both short term and beyond – lies in diversification, expansion and transparency. De-risking our national economies will only be possible if we achieve a strong measure of success quickly in that regard,” he said.

“Covid-19 has brought out many inadequacies in the global health system,” he said, adding that meaningful partnerships, sharing of advanced technologies, collaboration in vaccine and pharmaceutical production, capacity building and transparency in health information are all part of the answers.

“And in all of this, the role of businesses is critical. Crisis can often be the basis of creativity and our endeavour should be to come out of this stronger,” he added.

“Take the challenge of the COVID itself. India has succeeded in developing the world’s first DNA vaccine for COVID-19, another mRNA vaccine is in the final stages, as also a nasal vaccine. Our global collaborations have enabled us to emerge as a major vaccine production centre for the world.”

Referring to the Quad vaccine initiative, he said it could have significant benefits for nations of the Indo-Pacific.

He said Indian pharma manufacturing has stepped up to the Covid challenge by ramping up production for medicines that were in great demand. “All this was happening even as we simultaneously transformed the public health system in India.”

“The fact is that health has emerged as a more serious priority for all societies. Business must recognize the ensuing opportunities,” he stressed.

On the digital sector, he said the compulsions of the Covid times has made the world much more digital. “The strengthening of digital connectivity both with ASEAN and in the larger Indo-Pacific, therefore, acquires even greater importance. The templates of that could draw on the framework that govern existing development partnerships,” he said, adding that India can offer science and technology-based innovations to help the region “as the scale and cost of our solutions are indeed very attractive”.

Jaishankar said Covid-19 has also given an additional impetus to the diversification of the global value chain. “India’s campaign for an Atmanirbhar Bharat or a self-reliant India resonates with our quest to become a democratic and trustworthy partner for global industrial resiliency.”

“At the same time, we need to take full advantage of building back better by ensuring a greener economic recovery. The importance that we attach to this topic is also reflected in the fact that it is the subject of one of this year’s EAS Leader’s Statement, which is being co-sponsored by us.”

“India has a strong record on climate action and has an ambitious vision, including for renewables and green hydrogen. Cooperating more closely on Sustainable Development also lies at the heart of our collaboration on the Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP),” he said.

“It is important that we – India, the ASEAN and our relationship – we recognize that a different world awaits us. It is one that puts greater premium on trust and transparency, resilience and reliability, as also on choices and redundancy.”

“Our contemporary conversations will be relevant only if we adequately capture these emerging concerns. The centrality of ASEAN to the Indo-Pacific and the importance of India-ASEAN relations are self-evident. But if they have to continue to be salient, then we must strive to go beyond ideas and concepts that have outlived their shelf life,” he added.