The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh left for Phnom Penh this morning on a three-day visit to Cambodia. In a departure statement, Dr. Singh said, negotiations for a regional comprehensive economic partnership among ASEAN and its Free Trade Agreement partners including India will be launched this year. Dr Singh said this is a giant step towards creation of an economic community in the region. He said East Asia Summit is the foremost forum for promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. Referring to India's engagement with ASEAN, he said Phnom Penh will give opportunity to the leaders of the grouping to preview and prepare an ambitious agenda for the summit next month. This, the Prime Minister said, will take India-ASEAN relationship to a new level. He said, India-ASEAN Summit will also review the recommendations of the eminent persons group. The group headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh has strongly recommended to intensify economic engagement in the region. The Prime Minister said, East-Asian forum serves as a huge platform for enhancing co-operation in the region apart from discussing regional security issues. He said, ASEAN is an important component of India's look East policy. This year marks the 20th anniversary of dialogue partnership and 10th anniversary of summit level engagement with ASEAN.
The Prime Minister said India is celebrating this milestone by hosting a special commemorative summit in New Delhi in December. AIR correspondent covering the Prime Minister’s visit repots Dr Singh is slated to meet several heads of the governments including China, Russia and some ASEAN countries.
The Prime Minister, who is accompanied by a high level delegation including Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, will discuss maritime security in wake of the growing threat posed by piracy. Around 50 thousand ships are using the international waters in the East Asian region. The East Asia Summit, another important event, will discuss cooperation in energy, education, disaster management and pandemics apart from other regional and international issues during the retreat session of the summit.
