Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], July 13 (ANI): Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita delivered an inspiring speech during the ASEAN-India Foreign Minister's Meeting in Malaysia, affirming the strength of ties between India and the ASEAN countries.

In a significant announcement, he mentioned that with support from ASEAN partners, 100 per cent implementation of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action 2021-2025 was achieved.

In his opening remarks delivered at the Foreign Ministers' Meeting on July 10, he thanked Theresa Lazaro, for her leadership in facilitating deeper ASEAN-India cooperation as the Country Coordinator.

He congratulated Malaysia for the Chairmanship of ASEAN and extended full support for successful Chairmanship. He also thanked Malaysia for the warm welcome and hospitality to the Indian delegation.

In his remarks, he said, 'We convey our deepest appreciation to Lao PDR for their successful Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2024. I cordially welcome Timor Leste to this meeting and welcome the decision of ASEAN to have Timor-Leste as the 11th Member of ASEAN in October 2025. India will continue to support Timor Leste.'

He complimented ASEAN on the 10th anniversary of the ASEAN Community. 'Adoption of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN Community Vision 2045, at the recently held ASEAN Summit, is indeed significant', MoS Margherita added.

Speaking about the depth of ties, he underscored, 'India and ASEAN share civilisational bonds. For India, ASEAN is the cornerstone of its Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific vision. India firmly supports ASEAN Unity and ASEAN Centrality. The synergy between ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) augurs well for our region.'

'Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended 11 ASEAN-India Summits so far. At the last ASEAN-India Summit last year in Vientiane, Hon'ble Prime Minister said: 'The 21st century is the Asian Century, a century for India and ASEAN countries.' Together, we can make that a reality. Last year, Hon'ble Prime Minister announced a 10-point plan for strengthening the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which we are implementing', MoS Margherita said.

'Our partnership is thriving on strong people-to-people linkages. The priority India attaches to ASEAN led mechanisms is reflected in increasing practical cooperation across political-security, economic and socio-cultural domains. With support from our ASEAN partners, we achieved 100 per cent implementation of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action 2021-2025', he highlighted.

In his concluding remarks, he had extended deep appreciation to all ASEAN Foreign Ministers for special efforts towards strengthening ASEAN-India relations through substantive and tangible cooperation.

MoS visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the invitation of the current ASEAN Chair, Malaysia, where he participated in the Foreign Ministers' Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format of ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). (ANI)