India announces $1 million aid to ASEAN Covid-19 Response Fund

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced $1 million aid to ASEAN Covid-19 Response Fund at the 17th ASEAN-India Summit held virtually on Thursday.

Modi heaped praises on ASEAN’s successful management of the Covid-19 pandemic, affirming his country’s resolve to work with the bloc in research and production of vaccines at reasonable prices.

He also reiterated that ASEAN has always been part of India’s foreign policies and that ASEAN-led mechanisms offer solid platforms for trust building in the region.


India highly values ASEAN’s stance on Indo-Pacific cooperation and stands ready to cooperate with the bloc to foster the implementation of priorities in the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP), according to Modi.

Addressing the summit, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke highly of India’s role in promoting cooperation for peace and stability in the region, expressing his wish that India would further engage in ASEAN cooperation areas. Vietnam holds rotating Presidency of ASEAN in 2020.

Phuc hailed India for actively carrying forward Mekong-Ganga cooperation and hoped that projects within this framework will make practical contributions to narrowing ASEAN development gap.

Leaders from ASEAN and India highlighted the significant importance of the ASEAN-India strategic partnership for peace, stability, development and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

ASEAN leaders welcomed India’s “Look East” policy which lays emphasis on beefing up cooperation with ASEAN in a diverse and extensive manner.

They also appreciated India’s support for the principles and values enshrined in the documents jointly adopted by ASEAN and India.