The 11th edition of Delhi Dialogue commenced with Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, giving a welcome speech at the ministerial meeting hosted by External Affairs Ministry (EAM) on Friday evening.
During his address, Muraleedharan said, "It is most timely that nations from the IORA family and ASEAN partners gather here to discuss the consequential issues that this important concept offers us. In recent years there have been a steady trend in which nations have recognised that there is compelling logic and increasingly a certain inevitability about the Indo-Pacific concept."
ASEAN have recently sent out their own approaches. Other nations have also set out their own approaches to this concept, he said.
Muraleedharan mentioned, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already set out India's vision and approach in his Indo Pacific address in Shangrila dialogues in Singapore in 2018 and to his counterparts at the 14th East-Asia summit in Bangkok in November 2019."
He further said, "The artificial separation of this region during the cold war has declined as the bipolar era of hostility has receded."
His speech was followed by that of Nomvuyo Nokwe's, Secretary-General, IORA, who said, "ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific suggests exploring potential synergies with sub-regional frameworks such as IORA, BIMSTEC, Bay of Bengal initiative for multi-sectoral, technical and economic cooperation."
Nokwe asserted that today dialogue has confirmed opportunities and responsibilities to pursue those same goals across the broader Indo-Pacific region together.
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Retno LP Marsudi, Foreign Minister of Indonesia, drew attention towards Mahatma Gandhi's ideology on his 150th birth anniversary during his address.
Later, Marsudi brought topics such as poverty and wars and stressed that "inclusivity, transparency and openness must be there and international law must be respected."
"India and ASEAN have stood united for centuries due to our shared ocean. For India, for ASEAN and for Indo-Pacific region the ocean is our future and prosperity."
The theme for this year's Delhi Dialogue is "Advancing Partnership in Indo-Pacific", and is being organised with the assistance of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries.
Dignitaries from countries such as Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Sri Lanka, Russia, South Africa, UAE, Oman Iran Mauritius, USA, Kenya participated in the dialogue.
The release of 10th Delhi dialogue proceedings marked the end of the day's session.
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