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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that India sees the East Asia Summit as a springboard to regional cooperation and integration.
India is participating in the negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership among the ASEAN and its FTA partners, which will help create an economic community in the region.
The Prime Minister said this in a departure statement prior to leaving for Brunei to participate in the 11th India-Association of East Asian Nations Summit and the 8th East Asia Summit.
After the conclusion of the summit, Singh will proceed to Indonesia for an official bilateral visit.
The Prime Minister pointed out that India’s engagement with the ASEAN and its member countries is the cornerstone of its ‘Look East’ policy and has evolved into a strong, comprehensive and multi-faceted partnership in recent years.
“It started with a strong economic emphasis, with focus on commerce and connectivity, but has increasingly acquired strategic content. The summit in Brunei will be the first since the elevation of our relations with the ASEAN to a Strategic Partnership at the special Commemorative Summit in New Delhi and the conclusion of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Services and Investment in December 2012,’’ he said.
Singh added that his visits to Brunei Darussalam and Indonesia will further intensify India’s engagement to its East, which has been at the forefront of India’s foreign policy, and contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia Pacific.
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