Southeast Asian countries can't ignore India: ASEAN official

MANILA: India's rapidly increasing economic power status and its "look East policy" has made it an entity which cannot be ignored and southeast Asian nations are keen to forge close ties with it, a senior ASEAN official said here today.

"India's success story is real and every country wants to take part in the India pie," the official who requested anonymity said.

ASEAN ministers and senior officials have gathered here to attend the annual ASEAN ministerial meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived here late this evening. He will attend the high-profile security group meeting of ARF, on August 2, of which New Delhi is also a member.

Mukherjee, who arrived from Kolkata, will also meet foreign ministers of the 16-member group of East Asia Summit.

He is scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings, sources told media today. Mukherjee is scheduled to meet Loatian foreign minister tomorrow morning while later in the day he will have a lunch with foreign ministers of ASEAN, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

The external affairs minister will also meet his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer and Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.

Mukherjee will also hold bilateral talks with John Negroponte, deputy secretary of state of the United states, besides he will also attend the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Ministerial meeting.