New Delhi: In order to increase cooperation with South East Asian countries on economic and security issues, Dr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, announced a separate Mission for Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region to be set up in Jakarta, Indonesia. The mission will be assigned a full-time resident Ambassador.
Dr Manmohan Singh also represented India’s willingness to sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with ASEAN on services and investment by the end of this year and its early implementation, while addressing the 11th ASEAN-India Summit. The agreement will also boost bilateral trade among the regions from US$ 76 billion last year to US$ 100 billion by 2015.
India and ASEAN have established a comprehensive agenda of cooperation and a wide-ranging framework to pursue it over the last two decades.
“Today, we stand on the threshold of the third decade of our engagement. In keeping with our substantial achievements, the recent elevation of our ties to a strategic partnership and the rich potential of our cooperation, I feel it would be appropriate for me to take this opportunity to announce that India will soon set up a separate Mission to the ASEAN in Jakarta with a full-time resident Ambassador,” Dr Singh added.
He further highlighted that all the countries have equal stakes in the security and prosperity of our shared Asian neighbourhood. The scope of India’s engagement with East and Southeast Asia has grown steadily in the last two decades.
“We seek to promote not only mutually beneficial bilateral relations, but also to work institutionally with regional partners and foster a climate that is conducive to stability, security and economic development in our region,” said Dr Singh.
The Prime Minister emphasised that ASEAN has paved the way for a great level of cooperation and integration, not only among themselves, but also in the broader region.
“For India, it is an article of faith of our Look-East policy that ASEAN must remain central to the future evolution of regional mechanisms, which must be open and inclusive. We share your vision and aspirations for the region and we applaud your march towards an ASEAN Economic Community in 2015,” pointed out Dr Singh.
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