ASEAN Inde 8avr2
Tuesday April 9, 12:11 PM
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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India is seeking to develop closer economic, political and security ties with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Tuesday.
"This region is one of the focal points of India's foreign policy, strategic concerns and economic interests," Vajpayee said in a public lecture on the last day of a visit to the city state.
Vajpayee left Singapore on Tuesday along with a delegation of ministers and businessmen on his way to Cambodia.
The prime minister said India was currently seeking to intensify its engagement with the region by developing what he called "an India-ASEAN Vision 2020 road map" to identify mutually desired objectives.
ASEAN groups Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
Vajpayee said he was looking forward to meeting ASEAN leaders in Cambodia at a summit later this year, which could help promote creative economic links.
"The current global economic slowdown should also exhort us to more actively explore avenues for generating and meeting demand on a regional basis, so that we are cushioned against the impact of saturation of external markets," he said.
The Prime Minister said ethnic, nationalist violence and terrorism in Asia prevented closer relations.
"We grapple with a bewildering array of security threats, of which international terrorism has recently thrust itself dramatically into our consciousness," he said.