NEW DELHI, 28 February 2022, (TON): India is looking to host an Asean grouping foreign minister meet later this year. This year marks 30 years since India began its engagement with ASEAN.

India first became a "sectoral dialogue partner" of the 10-country grouping in 1992.

This was elevated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995.

The relationship was further elevated with the convening of the ASEAN-India Summit in 2002 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Since then, the ASEAN-India Summit has been held annually.

The meeting comes even as India and Asean are looking to review free trade agreements in goods so that Indian goods get more market access.

Recently the second ASEAN India digital ministerial meet virtually. India, of course, has many times reaffirmed the "Asean centrality" when it comes to its vision for the Indo Pacific.

External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar said "EU’s strategy is consistent with India’s vision of a free, open, balanced and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, anchored in ASEAN centrality, as outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore in 2018."