PHONM PENH, Nov 20: An Asean-India group has given a big push to New Delhi’s ‘Look East Policy’ by endorsing among other things its pitch for widening the scope of free trade agreement, saying ongoing negotiations in the areas of services and investment should be concluded at the earliest to take economic relations to a new height.
Asean-India eminent persons’ report to the leaders at the 10th India-Asean submit in the Cambodian capital yesterday urged them to set a target of 200 billion bilateral trade by 2022 under the FTA.
Significantly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also made a strong pitch for concluding the pact in services and investment by the time India hosted the commemorative Asean-India summit in New Delhi on December 20-21.
India-Asean trade was worth 74.9 billion dollars in 2011, surpassing the 70 billion dollars set for 2012, the report, submitted to the leaders at the 10th Asean-India summit, said.
The report, prepared during the course of a series of meetings held in the past two years, made a slew of recommendations to elevate Asean-India relations to a “strategic partnership.”
Suggesting a preeminent role for India, the group said Asean-India strategic partnership should be declared in the Vision Statement to be adopted at the New Delhi’s commemorative summit.
The panel wanted India to establish its separate diplomatic mission with an Ambassador accredited to Asean residing in Jakarta, Indonesia.
It urged India to fully support Asean’s commitment to realise a drug-free Asean 2015 and set up Asean-India centre for skill development and vocational education in Guwahati which is New Delhi’s pivot to push ‘Look East Policy.’
The group called for an international centre for water management technolgies in India to facilitate transfer of technologies, urging New Delhi to announce its location.
It also called for enhancing cooperation between Asean centre for energy in Jakarta with the International Centre for Energy being set up by India in Bangalore.
Emphasising its urgency, the panel said the initiative would be announced at the New Delhi summit being held to commemorate 20 years of engagement between India and Asean.
Stating that India and Asean are conscious of the emerging new economic architecture in the Asia-Pacific region and new security arrangements are taking shape concurrently, the eminent persons group recommended enhancement of the East Asia Summit (EAS) as leaders-led forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest and concern with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia.
Significantly, the United States, which is attending the 7th EAS here today, had recently announced to station half of its naval fleet in the Asia-Pacific region in an apparent bid to contain the Chinese influence in the area.
This has raised concern in the Asean community, particularly in those of its members who have disputes with China over the South China Sea.
Although the South China Sea issue is not on the agenda of EAS, its heavy overhang is being felt over the East Asian summit.
Yet the issue might come up for informal discussion during retreat sessions of EAS leaders, which include all leaders of the ten-nation bloc of Asean.
Besides India, China and the US, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are dialogue partners in the 18-nation group.
India is not involved in the China-Asean dispute over the South China Sea whole of which is claimed by Asia’s largest and world’s second largest economic power.
Since newly reelected Barack Obama is also attending the EAS, its remains to be seen how the US handles the contentious issue if it comes up for informal discussion during retreat sessions of EAS leaders.
(UNI)
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