The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrives in Hua Hin, central resort town of Thailand this evening to take part in the Seventh India-ASEAN Summit and the 16-nation East Asia Summit. The three-day Summit and related events will be attended by ten leaders from ASEAN member countries together with the leaders of the six dialogue partners including India.<br/> A significant aspect of Dr Singh's visit will be his meeting with Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao tomorrow, on the sidelines of the summit. Both the leaders will meet against the backdrop of increased tensions over the long-running boundary question. China recently criticised Dr Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, while New Delhi voiced concern over Chinese involvement in projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir among other issues. Later, Dr. Singh will also meet Japanese Prime Minister.<br/> The 15th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,ASEAN, which begins this evening, will adopt over 15 documents on various key issues. They include Declarations on Human Rights, Education, Climate Change and Connectivity. The draft statement on climate change reflects a unified response of ASEAN member states in addressing the problem. The statement will be significant in view of the forthcoming Global summit on Climate Change at Copenhagen in Denmark.<br/> Apart from the above-mentioned documents, the Hua Hin Statement on ASEAN document on Food Security and Bio-Energy Development and a separate Statement on East Asia Summit Disaster Management will be issued by the participating leaders.<br/>AIR correspondent covering the event reports, Thailand has mobilized over 18,000 strong security force and imposed an Internal Security Act in Bangkok and the ASEAN summit venue to prevent protests during the summit in Hua Hin.
News On AIR | October 23, 2009 6:07 AM
PM arrives in Hua Hin for ASEAN Summit