17-Sep-2022: MoS Smt. Anupriya Patel attends 10th EAS EMM (East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting)

Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry attended 10th EAS EMM (East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting) today on 17th September 2022 in Siem Reap City, Cambodia. The meeting saw representation from all 10 ASEAN countries as well as 8 partner countries viz. Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA.

The Ministers exchanged views on global and regional economic developments including the outcomes of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, post-pandemic economic recovery efforts, measures adopted to mitigate the impact of global supply chains disruptions and strong inflation pressure.

The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to recover and build greater economic resilience in the region by facilitating trade, investment, and secure and resilient supply chains; undertaking supportive fiscal policy measures to encourage economic growth; and ensuring that strong macroeconomic fundamentals are in place to retain sustainable growth in the region. The Ministers also noted the necessity of closer and deeper cooperation and coordination in the region to mitigate the negative economic impact on the post-pandemic recovery.

Smt. Anupriya Patel in her remarks acknowledged the pivotal role of EAS in strengthening multilateralism and promoting peace, stability, and economic prosperity in the region. She commended the ASEAN Secretariat for putting together a useful analysis of regional and global economic developments including economic developments in EAS economies which shows that India did well with highest GDP growth of 8.7% among EAS economies in 2021 and in spite of a forecast of some tapering of GDP growth in 2022 and 2023, India is set to maintain top position in GDP growth among EAS economies.

Smt. Anupriya Patel informed the meeting that despite numerous challenges & constraints, India has successfully administered more than 2 billion vaccine doses including booster doses to its citizens and is currently focused on vaccinating all eligible citizens. She reiterated India’s willingness to collaborate with East Asian partners in the production of vaccines, generic drugs and medical technologies used for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The Ministers welcomed the successful outcomes of the Twelfth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held on 12-17 June 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland and resolved to strengthen the rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable, and transparent multilateral trading system. Smt. Anupriya Patel while giving her views on the Ministerial Conference stated that the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) decision enabling ease of authorisation for production of patented vaccines will boost vaccine equity, accessibility and affordability and will result in faster pandemic response in future.

The Ministers noted Indonesia’s priorities for its G20 Presidency for 2022 and expressed their support for Indonesia’s Presidency under the theme “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”. Smt. Anupriya Patel congratulated Indonesia for its ongoing successful G20 Presidency and assured that India, as a member of the G20 Troika and the incoming G20 Presidency, stands in solidarity with Indonesia and supports Indonesian priorities in the G20.

Smt. Anupriya Patel reiterated India's commitment to strengthening the EAS as an ASEAN-led organisation and its support in collective actions of the EAS Forum aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic and strengthening regional economic architecture.

1-Sep-2018: 6th East Asia Summit and 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting held in Singapore

Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu attended the 6th East Asia Summit- Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) and 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM) in Singapore. Singapore is currently holding the Chair of ASEAN.

The 6th East-Asia Economic Ministers’  Meeting was chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and was attended by Economic Ministers from  10  ASEAN countries and their eight dialogue partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States of America. The Ministers welcomed the higher global economic growth forecast for 2018 and took note of the increasing importance of trade and investment relations among the EAS economies. Acknowledging  the potential for disruptions in the macro-economy that could affect overall market sentiments and global growth, the EAS-EMM forum expressed the hope that the economic linkages among the EAS members will enable them to address these challenges.

The Ministers agreed to the importance of keeping markets open and fair as well as improving transparency and predictability of the business environment. The meeting recognized the importance of ongoing work to maximize the opportunities of, and address the challenges presented by, the digital economy and the rise of regional and global value chains, as part of their efforts to promote economic growth and integration in the region.

The 6th EAS–EMM was followed by the 15th ASEAN Economic Ministers - India Consultation. It was  co-chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, India. The meeting attended by Economic Ministers from 10 ASEAN countries took stock of the current level of trade and economic engagement between India and ASEAN and reaffirmed the  commitment to further strengthen ASEAN-India economic relations. ASEAN has emerged as the second largest trade partner of India in 2017-18 with bilateral trade valued at USD 81.33 billion, comprising 10.58% of India’s total trade with the world.

ASEAN Ministers also appreciated the outcomes of the ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo held on 22–23 January 2018 in New Delhi, that was organised  soon after the 31st ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and its role in  providing  a platform for both government and industry leaders to exchange views and provide ideas and solutions towards sustaining the momentum of trade and investment in the region.

It was also announced in the Singapore meeting that the next ASEAN-India Business Summit will be held  in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 2018 with the theme “Towards Building Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and India in the Era of the 4th IR and Digital Economy”  which  will be followed by the 4th India-ASEAN Dialogue Partner Expo and Summit scheduled for 21-23 February 2019, in New Delhi.

The ASEAN-India Business Council (AIBC) presented their recommendations  to the forum  to sustain the momentum of trade and investment in the region. Issues related to promoting connectivity, collaboration on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development, blue economy, healthcare, and tourism as well as women and youth economic empowerment were discussed.  The Ministers emphasized on the importance of promoting private sector activities and strengthening business-to-business relations, including through the AIBC, to further broaden and deepen ASEAN-India economic linkages.