India on Monday, 23 May, joined the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Japan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the launch of the trade partnership in Tokyo.
The IPEF was launched by United States President Joe Biden in Tokyo, with a dozen nations as initial partners: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The 13 nations together represent 40 percent of the world's GDP.
The partnership of Asian nations, while boosting growth in the region, aims at countering China's economic dominance.
"It (IPEF) is the most significant international economic engagement that the United States has ever had in this region. And the launch of it... marks an important turning point in restoring U.S. economic leadership in the region and presenting Indo-Pacific countries an alternative to China's approach to these critical issues," US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters.
The IPEF partnership was announced a day ahead of the Quad Leaders' Summit.
'IPEF To Transform Indo-Pacific': PM Modi
"IPEF reflects our collective desire to transform the Indo-Pacific region into an engine of global growth," PM Modi said at the launch event of the trade partnership. The prime minister also called for finding common and creative solutions to tackle the economic challenges of the Indo-Pacific region.
"The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic partnership amongst participating countries with the objective of enhancing resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region," a press release issued by the prime minister's office said.
Modi, at the event, expressed India's commitment to working with all Indo-Pacific countries for an IPEF which is both inclusive and flexible. He underlined that the foundation of resilient supply chains must be 3Ts – Trust, Transparency, and Timeliness.
"India is committed to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and believes that deepening economic engagement among partners is crucial for continued growth, peace, and prosperity. India is keen to collaborate with partner countries under the IPEF and work towards advancing regional economic connectivity, integration, and boosting trade and investment within the region," he emphasised.
'IPEF an Alternative to China': US
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the IPEF would provide businesses with an alternative to China.
"I would say, especially as businesses are beginning to increasingly look for alternatives to China, the countries in the Indo-Pacific Framework will be more reliable partners for US businesses."
"By the way, just today, you know, you see reporting that Apple is looking to boost production outside of China. And many companies — many U.S. companies are looking to diversify away from China. Well, countries — Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia — that are actually signed up and in the Indo-Pacific Framework will obviously have an advantage to get that business from American companies, because they will have signed up to be the high-standard agreement that we plan to sign pursuant to the IPEF."US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
A joint statement released by the 13 partner nations on Monday noted, "This framework is intended to advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for our economies. Through this initiative, we aim to contribute to cooperation, stability, prosperity, development, and peace within the region."
"Framework partners will be engaging in such discussions on various ways to strengthen economic cooperation to achieve these goals, and we invite other interested Indo-Pacific partners to join us," it added.
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