PM wants to bolster ASEAN trade ties
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to bolster trade with his country and promised steps to expand links with the 10-nation bloc.
By Agencies |
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to bolster trade with his country and promised steps to expand links with the 10-nation bloc.
Singh, on the eve of flying to attend the bloc's annual summit, also said New Delhi wanted to forge closer political and diplomatic ties with the grouping, also known as ASEAN.
"Our trade with the ASEAN countries has grown rapidly and surpassed our expectations," Singh said in a statement in New Delhi.
"I will discuss with the ASEAN leaders new measures to expand the horizons of our cooperation to include not just greater economic integration, but also people-to-people contacts, science and technology, health, transport, human resource development, and information and communication technology."
India's current trade with ASEAN stands at around 30 billion dollars. India is currently a dialogue partner of the 40-year-old bloc, which brings together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Earlier Monday, ASEAN said it would not resume negotiations with India on a free trade agreement (FTA) until New Delhi came up with a better offer.
"For the time being, it's temporarily postponed because we still cannot agree on the product coverage," Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu told reporters in Singapore, saying a breakthrough on Tuesday was unlikely.
Negotiations have been stalled because of what ASEAN says is a list of 854 products that India wants to exclude from tariff cuts.
Singh said during his two-day trip he would also meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as well as the Malaysian and Singaporean heads of governments for talks.
Singh, on the eve of flying to attend the bloc's annual summit, also said New Delhi wanted to forge closer political and diplomatic ties with the grouping, also known as ASEAN.
"Our trade with the ASEAN countries has grown rapidly and surpassed our expectations," Singh said in a statement in New Delhi.
"I will discuss with the ASEAN leaders new measures to expand the horizons of our cooperation to include not just greater economic integration, but also people-to-people contacts, science and technology, health, transport, human resource development, and information and communication technology."
India's current trade with ASEAN stands at around 30 billion dollars. India is currently a dialogue partner of the 40-year-old bloc, which brings together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Earlier Monday, ASEAN said it would not resume negotiations with India on a free trade agreement (FTA) until New Delhi came up with a better offer.
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"For the time being, it's temporarily postponed because we still cannot agree on the product coverage," Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu told reporters in Singapore, saying a breakthrough on Tuesday was unlikely.
Negotiations have been stalled because of what ASEAN says is a list of 854 products that India wants to exclude from tariff cuts.
Singh said during his two-day trip he would also meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as well as the Malaysian and Singaporean heads of governments for talks.
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