Photo: PTINew Delhi: India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on Thursday agreed to step up maritime cooperation and outlined a road map for future partnership. In his speech at the summit, Modi said India shares “Asean’s vision for a rules-based order for the oceans and seas. “One step we can take is to increase our trade and economic cooperation. Harsh Pant, a professor of international relations at the London-based King’s College, said that India and the Asean identifying maritime cooperation as a crucial area of future cooperation “showed a great degree of convergence” on this issue. India is also looking at Asean as its development partner, especially with regard to improving economic conditions in its insurgency-wracked North-east.

Source: Mint January 25, 2018 15:00 UTC