CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Cambodia is the current chair of the ARF and will handover to Indonesia in late 2022. The next Ministerial Meeting will be hosted by Indonesia in August 2023.

Detailed explanation-2: -ASEAN shall develop friendly relations and mutually beneficial dialogues, cooperation and partnerships with countries and sub-regional, regional and international organisations and institutions.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Detailed explanation-4: -ASEAN Regional Forum was established in 1967 by five countries of South-East Asia. The objective of ASEAN: The main objective of ASEAN was to accelerate economic growth and through that social progress and cultural development.

Detailed explanation-5: -India and ARF: India became a member of the ARF in 1996. India’s participation in the ARF demonstrates our increasing engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, both in the politico-security and economic spheres and underlines our commitment to the objective of sustaining regional peace and stability.