India-ASEAN Youth Dialogue

The third India-ASEAN Youth Dialogue as held between June 8, 2020 and June 10, 2020. The dialogue was held in virtual mode.

Highlights

During the dialogue, India and ASEAN enhanced cooperation constructively in skill development, youthful energy and education. These areas were identified as strategic partnership between the two countries at the dialogue. The leaders also acknowledged re-establishment of Nalanda University. The Nalanda University has been offering several scholarship programmes for the ASEAN students.

Why Youth?

India has the largest youth population in the world. Around 65% of its population are below the age of 35 years. There are more than 450 million people that are in the age group of 15 to 35 years. ASEAN has also been witnessing largest population with around 213 million youth.

Significance

The Dialogue also complemented the ongoing youth-centric initiatives. Around 2,500 ASEAN youths are engaged in student exchange programmes in India. This includes special courses for young ASEAN Diplomats, exchange programmes for young farmers, programmes for young parliamentarians and media exchange programmes.

Background

ASEAN has been India’s utmost priority under its Act East Policy. There are 10 countries in ASEAN grouping. The organization focuses on military, education, socio-cultural integration, security. It was created in 1967 by 5 countries namely Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2020