Int’l conference sheds light on South Asia’s linkages with East-Southeast Asia

Hanoi (VNA) – South Asia’s linkages with East and Southeast Asia in the past and at present come under spotlight at the 4th Asian Consortium of South Asian Studies (ACSAS) conference held via video teleconference on November 18 – 19.  

Held by the Institute for Indian and Southwest Asian Studies (VIISAS) under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), the event provided a forum for scholars to explore ways to expand and promote South Asia’s linkages with East and Southeast Asia for better integration and shared prosperity in Asia.

In his opening remarks, VIISAS Deputy Director-General in-charge Dr. Pham Cao Cuong said as Asia is rising, it is important to initiate ways to tighten the inter-regional connectivity, creating infrastructure for greater political, economic and social interactions.

In the Asian Century, linking South Asia – a region of less integration in the world map – with the developed East Asia and dynamic Southeast Asia is viewed as a driver for accelerating Asia’s integration, he said.

The conference featured three main sessions, namely “Connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia: Integration and Cooperation,” “Factors affecting the connection between South Asia and Southeast Asia,” and “Connecting culture, religion and people between South Asia and Southeast Asia.”

The discussions aimed to identify the historical and current linkages between South Asia and East – Southeast Asia, thereby exploring strategies to optimize the potential of regional integration and development; conceptualize the formal and informal linkages between South and East-Southeast Asia; and promoting sub-regional economic networks and framework between South and East-Southeast Asia, such as Mekong-Ganga Cooperation and ASEAN Plus./.