International - India & World   

Stage set for ASEAN-India accord

By P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE SEPT. 30. The stage has been set for a "Framework Agreement" between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) following a trouble-shooting discussion between the two sides in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, at the level of officials. With these talks concluding on a positive note, the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is now expected to sign the "Framework Agreement" with the South East Asian leaders at the ASEAN-India summit in Bali (Indonesia) early next month.

The prospective `Framework' will serve as a prelude to an ASEAN-India free trade agreement (FTA).

Wide-ranging economic cooperation, including trade and investment, will also be facilitated with the `Framework', as finalised, outlining time-specific negotiations for various aspects of comprehensive cooperation such as trade in goods and services as also investments. The current exercise is a sequel to India's offer last year to fashion close economic links with the ASEAN, inclusive of an FTA as a centrepiece.

Confirming the latest positive development on the ASEAN-India front, diplomatic and official sources do not foresee any further complications. Nor do they wish to go into the specifics of the hitch that have so far held up the finalisation of the "Framework". Behind the scenes, however, the Philippines and Vietnam, among the 10 ASEAN countries, have expressed reservations on certain aspects of the proposed accord.

These reservations, by and large, relate to the internal dynamics of the unevenly developed ASEAN bloc. At no stage, however, did India and the ASEAN reach a stand-off or a showdown, although both the Philippines and Vietnam are eager to secure a balance of commitments and advantages. t the second ASEAN-India summit in Bali next month, India would also agree to abide by the association's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, official sources said.

The External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, is likely to ink the relevant documents that would draw India into a closer partnership with the ASEAN in a political sense, too. In the nature of a world view, the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation forms a key political basis of the association's functioning in its extended neighbourhood.

India and the ASEAN have also finalised an anti-terror Joint Declaration that would be adopted during Mr. Vajpayee's summit with the leaders of the association's 10 member-states in Bali.

The proposed Declaration would spell out the political commitments of both India and the association, somewhat on the lines of the ASEAN-U.S. anti-terror declaration that was signed in Brunei last year at the level of the Foreign Ministers.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• China to focus on market economics
• Blair justifies Iraq invasion
• Spy name leak: Justice Department begins probe
• Italy in dark over power outage reason
• Stage set for ASEAN-India accord

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu