|
India-ASEAN meeting |
 |
At the just ended meeting of the senior officials of India and the Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN], there was a broad agreement on holding a formal ASEAN-India summit, like the one ASEAN has with countries like China and Japan. It was, however, felt that a consensus was yet to evolve and such a summit, to be held regularly on the sidelines of the ASEAN summits, will have to await a complete agreement among the ASEAN members. At the meeting which ended in New Delhi on Jan. 21, many new areas were identified for cooperation which included transnational crimes, terrorism and piracy. ASEAN sought Indian expertise in information technology, human resource development and development of small and medium enterprises. Briefing newsmen at the conclusion of the two-day meeting, Secretary, Economic Relations, Mr. S.T. Devare, said, there was enthusiasm among the ASEAN officials to expand the areas of cooperation. The scope for discussion was wide-ranging with the Indian side preparing to study the protocol on the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.
Apart from the discussions, a separate meeting was held among officials of six countries in the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation. Apart from India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos participated in the discussion. It was decided to set up expert groups on tourism, culture, transport and human resources development.
|
