Guwahati, Feb 05: The 2nd ASEAN-India Youth Summit got underway in Guwahati today. Union Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) Shri K J Alphons attended the inaugural session as the Chief Guest along with the Chief Minister of Assam Shri Sarbananda Sonowal. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Connectivity: Pathway to Shared Prosperity”.
In his address Shri Alphons said that there is so much common among the ASEAN countries and India. He said, “The Buddist philosophy and the Hindu philosophy are so deeply embedded in the entire ASEAN region and this keep them united. We must work together to strengthen the bond and build on the ideals”.
The minister, while acknowledging that the World belongs to the young people, said that it is the youth who will determine the future of this world. He also stressed on the need for active involvement of the youth in political, economic and social spheres for sustainable peace and all-round development.
The minister stressed on the aspect of spiritual connectivity and said that young people are full of vibrant ideas and that their ideas can show the country a new path towards prosperity. “World belongs to the Young people. It is the time we discard age old philosophies and we have to believe that we have to work together”, he added.
The minister exhorted the youths to dream big as well as work hard to achieve those dreams. “Dream for yourself, each one of you should tell yourself that I am going to make a difference”, he added. He urged every youth in the hall to make best use of this opportunity to participate in brainstorming events over the course of five days where they will be mentored by thought leaders and then to go back to their respective countries to work together in order to make the world a better place to live in.
The minister, expressing his concern over the climate change, said that the young people have to play an active role in protecting and improving the environment. He said that the problem today is that many people are ignorant and oblivious of their responsibility to the environment and have thus continued to unknowingly or knowingly carry out activities that are harmful to the environment. In order to counter this, youth should play the role of agents of change to sustain the environment and create awareness among the whole human population.
Chief Minister of Assam Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in his address said that India’s ties with countries in Southeast Asia has a strong foundation of cultural linkages and civilisational ties which is noticeable in the cultural resemblances in many aspects and it has been the bedrock for building the platform for the new emerging areas of cooperation.
He expressed his belief that the confluence of youth leaders from India and the ten ASEAN countries in this Summit will lead to a shared understanding of the challenges the countries face and the actions that is needed to be taken to restore and nourish connectivity in all dimensions within the region.
Shri Sonowal also said that connectivity is the most crucial factor in furthering relations with the South East Asian region. Therefore, it is imperative to focus on improved airways, roadways, waterways, railways and information ways in this region, he added. Shri Sonowal also enumerated various recent developments that have taken place in Assam in respect to connectivity through rail, road, air and waterways.
The session was also attended by Ms Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs and Maj. Gen. (retd.) Dhruv C Katoch, Director, India Foundation.
More than 150 youth leaders from India and ten ASEAN countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam will take part in various deliberations on connectivity in all its dimensions—physical, institutional and people-to-people during these 5 days.
ASEAN-India Youth Summit is a step to facilitate socio-cultural exchanges between the countries of the region, to further strengthen the values of tolerance, pluralism and diversity, which is an integral part of the traditions of India and the countries of ASEAN. The summit will continue till 7th Feb, 2019.
