Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Kampala from November 22 to 25. “India is strongly committed to the Commonwealth’s role of nurturing a sense of belonging to a shared past and a shared destiny based on common values. The Commonwealth is a forum that is uniquely placed to harness the strength and diversity of its membership in cooperating with each other and addressing the global challenges of trade, sustainable development and social advancement,” the Prime Minister observed on the eve of the summit. Read more

“India’s ‘Look East’ policy is now blossoming and showing results on the ground. I consider our participation in the India-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit EAS to be essential pillars of this policy, and vital for the qualitatively enhanced engagement which India seeks with the region” said the Prime Minister.

Singapore Prime Minister Mr. Lee Hsien Loong addressing a gathering of business leaders on the eve of the Summit meeting said that ASEAN countries offer a neutral core around which the rest of Asia can build economic ties and a regional framework of cooperation. To sustain this, ASEAN itself has to become more integrated and cohesive and only then can the ASEAN nations keep up with larger and stronger economies like China and India.

This year’s ASEAN summit meeting, however, was not just a meeting of the heads of the government of 10 member nations.  There were more than a thousand delegates from 43 countries and organizations.

The world leaders like Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Chinese Prime Minister Mr. Wen Jaibao,  and Japanese Prime Minister Mr Yasuo Fukuda were also there to attend the East Asia Summit. For them, it was not just an occasion to meet the ASEAN leaders but also to improve bilateral relations. Mr Jiabao, Chinese Prime Minister and Dr Manmohan Singh apart from discussing the border issue between their two countries also deliberated upon how to expand bilateral cooperation in the areas of energy security and climate change.

Mr Fukuda, Japanese Prime Minister and Dr Manmohan Singh in their meeting reviewed the progress on the dedicated freight corridor and Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor. The two leaders reached an unanimity of view that East Asia Summit is an important building block for creating Asian Economic Community and pledged to work closely to further this objective.

Prime Minister said in Singapore “India has a stake in ASEAN’s stability and prosperity just as we believe ASEAN has a stake in the transformation that India is experiencing. India’s  relationship with the ASEAN countries is the pillar of its “Look East” policy.

Ever since India became Sectoral Dialogue partners of ASEAN 15 years ago, it has taken substantial strides in integrating the economies, societies and institutions.”

As far as India’s contribution in creating an Asian Free Trade Area is concerned, there was significant headway towards signing the India –ASEAN  Free Trade Agreement, FTA. India’s Commerce secretary Mr G. K. Pillai announced that most parts of the FTA with the ASEAN have already been sealed. He said, the agreement may be signed in May next year.

The Commerce secretary added that India will hold bilateral meetings with ASEAN members to resolve the pending issues on import duty cuts in tea, pepper, coffee and palm oil, the things that have been holding up the agreement so far.

Earlier, addressing the East Asia Summit Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said, the trade turnover target of 30 billion dollars for 2007 has already been achieved and now India and the ASEAN have fixed a new target of 50 billion dollars by 2010.  He further added that both India and the ASEAN have a common political will to reach an agreement at the earliest. Dr Manmohan Singh said, to facilitate the process, simplification of visa regime should be agreed upon so that businessmen from India can travel more easily to ASEAN countries and the vice versa. The Prime Minister said, India is keen to join open skies regime among  ASEAN nations to achieve flight connectivity. He also proposed the setting up of an India – ASEAN network on climate change for sharing of expertise. 

Coming back to the charter committing ASEAN nations to promote human rights and democratic ideals, it was adopted on the very first day of the Summit meeting. The charter enjoins the ASEAN members to keep the region free of nuclear weapons, ease poverty, protect environment and work toward an integrated market that allows for free flow of goods, services, investments and professionals.

 ASEAN was formed on the 8th August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand with the aim of accelerating economic growth and  social progress and promoting  regional peace. Later, the group expanded with the inclusion of Brunei Darussalam in 1984, Vietnam in 1995 , Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and Cambodia.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh embarked  on a two-day visit to Russia on November 11, during which several bilateral documents were signed.

The visit, was at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, is in continuation of annual Summit meetings between India and Russia institutionalised since the first visit of Putin as President to India in October 2000.

The last Summit was held in New Delhi during Putin's visit on January 25-26 this year, when he also participated as Chief Guest at our Republic Day celebrations. Since then, a series of high-level visits have taken place between the two countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas.

“The India-Russia Strategic Partnership is an enduring bond of friendship, which has strong historical roots. Our relations with Russia have traditionally been a factor of peace and stability in the region and beyond. I am convinced that the strong fundamentals of mutual trust and a shared world view on regional and global issues would continue to bring our two countries closer together in a dynamic international environment,” said Prime Minister Singh.

“Our two countries are preparing enthusiastically for the “Year of Russia in India” in 2008 and “Year of India in Russia” in 2009. We wish to showcase the new Russia in India and the new India in Russia. I have invited both the President Putin and the Prime Minister Zubkov to India”, the Prime Minister added. 

Commenting on his visit the Prime Minister said, “I am extremely satisfied with my discussions with President Putin. They were characterized by warmth, cordiality and unanimity on all issues of mutual interest. There has been substantial forward movement on many of the issues that we had discussed at our last Summit in January. We held wide-ranging discussions and identified areas for further cooperation between our two countries.”