The role that industry could play in India’s Indo-Pacific out reach

Context: Economic partnerships could form a central component of our plurilateral platforms of cooperation in the vibrant Indo-Pacific region.

Evolution of India’s Indo-Pacific strategy

• 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore: Prime Minister articulated India’s Indo-Pacific strategy under the ‘SAGAR’ concept of Security and Growth for All in the Region.
•  2019 East Asia Summit: Where seven pillars of Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative were enunciated.
• With ASEAN as the centre, India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific relies on common progress and prosperity.
• New partnerships: Such as Quad, Supply Chain Resilience Initiative and various plurilateral configurations.
• The Indo-Pacific Business Summit: Held recently by the Confederation of Indian Industry in partnership with the ministry of external affairs. It was notable in three ways-
• Reiterated relevance of economic engagement in the twin-ocean geography and highlighted trade and investment as a consensual pillar of an overall strategy.
• On average, 21 participating countries had a trade to GDP ratio of over 90% in 2019, far higher than the global average of 60%.
• Summit saw a wide participation of governments and private sectors: Across 21 countries, India’s trade with participating countries has risen by about eight times over the last two decades, with the US, UAE and Singapore as our top export destinations in the region.
• Outlined scope of emerging economic partnerships in this strategic space as extending much beyond trade and investment.

Way forward: Enhanced partnership in Health, Power and Digital as expressed by Minister of External Affairs

• Healthcare partnership: To ensure vaccine access for all, technology sharing and building manufacturing capacity is critical. Quad meeting in March had taken this up as a priority agenda.
• Work on healthcare infrastructure and medical supplies: Joint investments and sharing of expertise can help in this effort, along with conducive policies.
• India has introduced a production-linked incentive scheme for certain drugs and inputs and is prioritizing industrial parks for pharmaceuticals; capacity building and skill development of healthcare personnel is another area where India could take the lead.
• Digital collaboration: Cross-border e-commerce is on the rise, with services being increasingly delivered on digital platforms.
• Physical, as well as soft digital infrastructure needs to be in place to ensure that technology becomes a connector and not a differentiator for the region’s countries.
• Data management, cybersecurity and capacity building are some of the challenges that India, with its computer services capabilities, is well-positioned to address for the Indo-Pacific.
• Green and sustainable development partnerships: Issues such as biodiversity conservation, plastic waste management and water-sustainable agriculture must be addressed together with the climate-change imperatives of green energy, electric vehicles and energy-efficient products.