Association of South East Asian Nations (The ASEAN) Committee Islamabad (ACI) held an important meeting on 21 July 2022 in which Vietnam assumed the Chairmanship of the committee from Thailand. Ambassador Mr. Nguyen Tien Phong of Vietnam has replaced Ambassador Thailand Mr. Chakkrid Krachaiwong.
ACI is local format of ASEAN that meets to discuss inter-regional matters of interest and cooperation with the host country Pakistan.The members discussed the status of relations with Pakistan. They expressed satisfaction on the present level and expressed their resolve to further enhancing the cooperation.
ASEAN nations as combined together are the fifth largest economy in the world and Pakistan’s collaboration with ASEAN region chiefly in the areas of trade & investment, education, human resources development and tourism could bring huge economic benefits to Pakistan. All member nations enjoy cordial and close relations with Pakistan.
Ambassadors of Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar (Burma)Brunei attended the meeting. Singapore,Laos and Cambodia are the other three members countries of this one of the biggest bodies of the world with all respects, population, area and the market.
ASEAN is one sixth of the world with a population of nearly 1 Billion. It was established in August 1967 brought fruitful results for the member countries.They gradually succeeded in solving their disputes and enhancing their region and bilateral cooperation in all spheres including trade, economy, investments, security and stability affairs.
ASEAN is one of the most promising regions for Pakistan in terms of the proximity and the friendly relations with the member countries. As this scribe discussed it with Ambassador of Indonesia Mr. Adam M. Tugio in an interview couple of month ago.
Mr. Tugio said “We are ready to facilitate the Pakistani trade community to develop linkages in the ASEAN region and utilize the benefits of existing goodwill for long term business plans. The participation in expos, business forums, dissemination of trade information, and connectivity among the chambers of commerce can also significantly contribute to increase the bilateral trade volume.”
To a question, Mr. Tugio replied “Indonesia values Pakistan’s ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partnership and supports Pakistan’s efforts to achieve a Full Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN. Indonesia similarly holds Pakistan’s ‘Vision East Asia’ policy and geo-economic vision in high regard.I think that implementing these measures would help to deepen Pakistan’s ties with ASEAN in all aspects of cooperation. Pakistan’s total bilateral trade with ASEAN of over $7 billion suggests that there is huge scope for Islamabad to scale up its economic engagement with ASEAN through its member-states.”
Regarding the Buddhist sites of Pakistan, Ambassador Tugio noted, ” The sites were incredibly significant and sacred, and they were a treasure mine of human cultural legacy. Around 240 million Muslims,140 million Buddhists, 130 million Christians, and seven million Hindus live in ASEAN. Pakistan might benefit much from cultural heritage and religious tourism, not only in terms of economics but also in terms of goodwill and cultural exchange, thanks to its magnificent old cultural heritage locations.”
Pakistan’s total bilateral trade with ASEAN is over US$7 billion while the trade between Indonesia-Pakistan reached up to US$2.3 billion in 2020. It suggests that there is huge scope for Pakistan to scale up its economic engagement with ASEAN through its member-states. ASEAN member countries continue to support close friendly ties with Pakistan as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner and an active member of the ARF.
Pakistan was accorded the sectoral dialogue status of ASEAN at the 26th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on July 23, 1993. Pakistan is keen to be an FDP of ASEAN. Due to the moratorium, the process of FDP is still pending.
ASEAN encourages Pakistan’s collaboration with the ASEAN region particularly in the areas of trade and investment, education, human resources development and tourism which could bring huge economic benefits to Pakistan. ASEAN and Pakistan have many similarities including strong cultural and religious affinity.ASEAN highly values Pakistan’s ‘Vision East Asia’ policy.
The progress on China Pakistan Economic Corridor has surfaced more venues of interaction between ASEAN nations and Pakistan. The representatives of ASEAN and Pakistan exchanged views on how ASEAN countries can further engage with CPEC and other projects in Pakistan for mutual benefits last month at a special briefing at Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was hosted by Mumtaz Zahra Baloch , the then Additional Secretary Asia Pacific.
Tazeen Akhtar 
