Sunday, Nov 28, 2004
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India & World
By P.S. Suryanarayana
SINGAPORE, NOV. 27. The Foreign Ministers of India and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) today finalised a comprehensive partnership pact and "recommended" that the leaders of the two sides sign it at their summit in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, on November 30. The document on the ASEAN-India "Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity" was given finishing touches by the External Affairs Minister, K. Natwar Singh, and his counterparts from the 10 member-states of the association at a meeting in Vientiane. Hailing the "joint initiative," Mr. Singh later told The Hindu over phone from Vientiane that the ASEAN, which was "very supportive" of India, had also emphasised the "great expectations" on both sides. Noting that this was a "very exciting time to become partners" on the international stage, Mr. Singh drew attention to both the "vision" and the "very good atmosphere" that helped shape the document. It "takes care of all of our concerns," he said, responding to questions on its relevance to India's foreign policy. Drawing attention to the political sweep of the document, ranging from security issues to trade and development matters, he drew attention to India's place in the ASEAN's array of partners such as China, Japan and South Korea.
Plan of action
ASEAN officials emphasised that the "plan of action," an integral aspect of the prospective pact with New Delhi, would help catalyse the intended cooperative projects and put India "on par" with China and Japan as the association's prime Asian partners. In a separate statement, Mr. Singh, too, noted that "the landmark document incorporates a plan of action for even more intensive cooperation on political and security issues as well as in the economic, social and cultural fields." Sources said Mr. Singh's discussions in Vientiane today covered the possibility of the ASEAN-India trade volume going up from $13 billion to $30 billion by 2007. The identified areas of economic and technical cooperation included information and space technologies, remote sensing, biotechnology, tele-medicine among others. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers were also appreciative of the ongoing India-ASEAN car rally, which, while being non-competitive in nature, emphasised the "contiguity" of the two sides. On the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' meeting, Mr. Singh held talks with his Japanese counterpart, Nobutaka Machimura. Officials said they reviewed the "excellent" bilateral relations and discussed issues of mutual interest in a "global context" in the spirit of the common cause that Japan, India, Germany and Brazil had now made in respect of their efforts to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Lao-India project
The External Affairs Minister and the Laotian Minister of Education, Phimmasone Leuangkhamma, today jointly inaugurated the Lao-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Vientiane. Mr. Singh expressed India's sustained commitment to support Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam in developing indigenous entrepreneurship and in integrating more closely with other ASEAN economies. The new centre in Vientiane is the first of four units planned to be set up in these countries at a total cost of $ 4.6 million.
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