ASEAN-India Summit 2026: AITIGA Trade Pacts & MCQs

ASEAN was established on 8th August 1967 in Bangkok by the foreign ministers of five founding nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

ASEAN comprises 10 members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam (with Timor-Leste in process of accession).

The ASEAN Secretariat is located on Jalan Sisingamangaraja in Jakarta, Indonesia, headed by a rotating Secretary-General.

Launched in 1991 following the end of the Cold War and economic liberalization, the Look East Policy marked India's strategic outreach to Southeast Asia.

At the Nay Pyi Taw Summit in 2014, India upgraded the framework to the ‘Act East Policy' to encompass economic, strategic, security, and cultural connectivity.

During the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Cambodia in November 2022, the ties were officially elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Signed in Bangkok in August 2009, AITIGA eliminated or reduced tariffs on over 4,000 product lines between India and the 10 ASEAN economies.

India seeks to make AITIGA more trade-facilitative and mutually beneficial, addressing rules of origin anomalies and customs asymmetries.

The AOIP affirms ASEAN Centrality as the underlying principle for regional architectural cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Launched by Prime Minister Modi at the East Asia Summit in Bangkok in 2019, IPOI is built on seven maritime pillars aligning with the AOIP.

At the 40th/41st ASEAN Summits in Phnom Penh, leaders approved in principle to admit Timor-Leste as the 11th member, granting it observer status.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the establishment of an Indian Embassy in Dili at the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta.

The EAS comprises 18 nations: the 10 ASEAN members plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.

Exercise SITMEX enhances maritime inter-operability between the Indian Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy, and Royal Thai Navy in the Andaman Sea.

SIMBEX (Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise) is India's longest uninterrupted bilateral naval exercise with any foreign navy.

Exercise Samudra Shakti showcases surface warfare drills, weapon firings, and maritime patrol coordination between Indian and Indonesian navies.

Exercise Harimau Shakti rotates between India and Malaysia, focusing on jungle warfare and counter-insurgency tactics.

Exercise Maitree is the annual bilateral military training exercise between the armed forces of India and Thailand.

The Philippines became the first foreign export customer for India's shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic missile system.

The new Nalanda University was established under the Nalanda University Act, 2010, supported diplomatically and financially by 17 partner nations across EAS.

The UPI-PayNow linkage was the first cross-border real-time payment system linkage for India, dramatically slashing wire transfer costs.

AISTDF finances collaborative R&D in biotechnology, renewable energy, materials science, and climate adaptation.

The Delhi Dialogue brings together ministers, senior officials, scholars, and business leaders to deliberate on the future of the ASEAN-India partnership.

India opted out of RCEP at the Bangkok Summit in 2019 to protect its domestic dairy, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors from dumping.

Sabang is situated at the entrance to the Malacca Strait, just 90 nautical miles from India's Indira Point in the Great Nicobar island.

Celebrated annually in Cuttack on Kartika Purnima, Bali Jatra commemorates ancient Kalinga's rich maritime trade across Southeast Asia.

Originally dedicated to Lord Vishnu by Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) helped restore the monument.

Borobudur is the world's largest Buddhist temple, adorned with 504 Buddha statues and 2,672 relief panels depicting Buddhist cosmology.

The summit adopted joint statements on maritime cooperation and food security during global crises.

The three pillars guide comprehensive regional integration and community-building among Southeast Asian nations.