NEW DELHI, 14 January 2007 — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday arrived in Cebu in the Philippines on a three-day visit to participate in the 5th India-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit and the 2nd East Asia summit. “Our participation in both these summits is a reflection of the increasing significance of the eastern orientation of India’s foreign policy and our quest for closer engagement with countries of Southeast and East Asia,” the prime minister said yesterday in a statement before he left for the Philippines. The 5th India-ASEAN Summit takes place today, while the 2nd East Asia Summit will be held tomorrow. The summits were to be held last month but were deferred due to a typhoon.
Outlining the issues he will emphasize, Manmohan Singh said: “At the India-ASEAN Summit I will have an opportunity to review, with leaders of ASEAN countries, the progress that has been achieved over the last year in India’s economic dialogue with the ASEAN region.” India-ASEAN trade has exceeded $23 billion, registering a tenfold increase since 1990. The two sides will discuss ways of further enhancing their economic cooperation.
The prime minister said: “We will also consider new initiatives that can be undertaken to accelerate this process of engagement. I believe that the India-ASEAN FTA (free trade agreement) is an important initiative to promote this greater economic synergy and I shall use this opportunity to explore steps that both sides can take to hasten the conclusion of this important agreement.”
The India-ASEAN summit is expected to review ongoing cooperation in fields such as entrepreneurship development, English language training, information technology cooperation and expansion of economic assistance to CLMV countries comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Discussions would also touch on cooperation in tourism, transport and infrastructure.
“The 2nd East Asia summit will provide an opportunity to take forward a process that was initiated last year to put in place a regional architecture for greater cooperation and economic integration amongst countries of East Asia,” Manmohan Singh said. “The East Asia summit agenda includes energy security, stability of the regional financial system, mitigating natural disasters, environment and other subjects of common interest that can only be tackled effectively within a broad inclusive framework,” he said.
Laying stress on his visit reflecting the eastern orientation in India’s foreign policy, the prime minister said he was looking forward to utilizing the visit to elevate India’s engagements in Southeast and East Asia to new levels.
On the sidelines of the summit, the premier is scheduled to meet with regional leaders including President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines, Premier Wen Jiabao of China and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam.
ASEAN includes Indonesia Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Brunei with India, China, Japan and South Korea as dialogue partners.
The prime minister is accompanied by wife Gursharan Kaur, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and several other top officials. He was seen off at his residence by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
