Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's address at the 5th India-ASEAN Summit

"Your Excellency, Madam President, Your Majesty, Excellencies,

Madam President, I thank you for your warm words of welcome and for your gracious hospitality. I am very happy to be here in the Queen City of the South Philippines.

It is always a pleasure to be with friends. With ASEAN countries, we have special bonds of kinship as well as age-old cultural linkages. I, therefore, value this opportunity to be at this distinguished gathering once again for the annual India - ASEAN Summit.

India's "Look East" policy, when it was initiated a decade and a half ago, marked a strategic shift in our perspective. It coincided with the beginning of our economic reform process and provided an opportunity for significantly enlarging our economic engagement. At the same time, it was also a renewal of time-tested linkages with our neighbours in South East and East Asia. Our zeal and determination to pursue this renewal and reach our goal of fashioning the Asian Economic Community, remains unshaken.

This is amply demonstrated by the intensification of political dialogue and the steadily enlarging people-to-people contact encompassing all the countries of the region. Our bilateral cooperation with the countries of ASEAN has myriad facets and covers cooperation in diverse areas such as agriculture, fisheries, health, information technology, space technology, energy, defence and combating international terrorism.

The results of India's "Look East" policy are also amply demonstrated in our growing economic interaction with the region. India's trade with ASEAN has risen from US$ 2.4 billion in 1990, to US$ 23 billion in 2005. Our trade with the countries of the East Asia Summit has, similarly, risen from US$ 8 billion in 1990, to US$ 67.6 billion in 2005. This accounts for nearly 30% of our external trade. At the same time, the period has also seen an increase in FDI flows, both from India to the region and from the region into India.

Today, India is very different from the India of 1991. It is now a vibrant market-place. Our entrepreneurs are aggressively investing overseas. India has also emerged as a productive and profitable investment destination. We have a US$ 700 billion economy that is growing at 7 - 8% every year. In the first half of the current year, economic growth reached 9.1%. We have actively pursued external liberalization by cutting down customs duty rates. The current peak rate, at about 12.5% is quite close to ASEAN levels. We have a policy objective of aligning our duty rates with ASEAN levels.

While India has seen many changes, so has the region. The most significant has been the process of ASEAN economic integration, and a similar process for deepening economic integration between ASEAN and its dialogue partners. The convening of the East Asia Summit last year was a historic development. We acknowledge ASEAN's valuable contribution in being the driving force for this positive development and for inviting India to be there at the start.

In the present phase of our "Look East" policy, we in India seek to deepen our economic integration by entering into Free Trade or Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements, both with ASEAN as a whole and with individual countries of the region. Such agreements are already under different stages of discussion or implementation with Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. This web of mutually beneficial partnerships can, we believe, be brought together in a Pan Asian FTA that could light up the future of this region.

India - ASEAN trade recorded an impressive growth of 30% last year. This leaves us in little doubt about our ability to achieve, and even surpass, the target of US$ 30 billion by 2007.

I believe that the India-ASEAN FTA will impart even further momentum to this growth in trade. We are strongly committed to its early conclusion and implementation. I am glad to note that at the India-ASEAN Trade Ministers' meet a few days ago, progress has been made on resolving outstanding issues relating to exclusion lists and tariff concessions. We should direct our Trade Ministers to expedite the negotiations so that the FTA can be finalised, as agreed, by July 2007.

Greater connectivity is also central to the idea of regional economic integration. The initiative taken in 2003 to liberalize air services has led to a significant increase in flight connections between India and ASEAN, with concomitant benefits in trade and people-to-people contact. I recall, at our last Summit, the Prime Minister of Singapore had proposed that we now look at an open skies policy. We have examined this proposal and I am happy to announce that we would be willing to engage ASEAN authorities in a discussion on such a policy.

Excellencies,

Science & technology is an area in which cooperation between India and ASEAN has added much substance to our relationship. The Technology Summit jointly organized by India and ASEAN, in New Delhi in November last year has been an important milestone in this cooperation. It shows that we can pool our knowledge, and together add to it, to create wealth and improve the well - being of our peoples.

The Technology Summit discussed the establishment of an India - ASEAN Science & Technology Development Fund. I propose that we take steps for the early operationalization of the Fund. The Fund should support the development of strategic alliances between Indian and ASEAN researchers and lead to further collaborative R&D by our countries. Our officials should be mandated to deliberate and decide upon the details of the structure and financing of the Fund.

I would also like to use this opportunity to re-iterate that India remains committed to continuing its support for the Initiative for ASEAN Integration. We are happy, in this context, that the India - Cambodia and India - Vietnam Entrepreneurship Development Centres became operational last year. The India - Laos Centre has been operational since November 2004. We also have a wide ranging programme of cooperation with Myanmar, which is our gateway to ASEAN. Such cooperation is, indeed, heartening as it demonstrates the benefits that the India - ASEAN relationship can bring to common people.

Human resource development is central to bridging the development gap. I am happy that cooperation in this area has proceeded well during the course of this year. We are particularly gratified with the positive response to the 1st training course for ASEAN diplomats, that was organized by the Foreign Service Institute in New Delhi recently. I propose that such cooperation be institutionalized on an annual basis.

The year 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the ASEAN and the 60th anniversary of India's attainment of independence. Together the anniversary numbers total 100, a perfect square. I would like to offer our young friends from ASEAN countries an invitation to visit India. We will host 10 students from each of the 10 member countries of ASEAN on a trip of the sights and sounds of modern and ancient India. Centres of IT excellence in India will figure prominently in the itinerary.

The age-old India - ASEAN linkages have been about our peoples mingling and interacting with each other. This dimension has been given a renewed thrust with the impressive growth of connectivity and the ever-increasing flows of tourism between India and ASEAN. This should, I believe, remain a priority area of cooperation and, in fact, be given even further impetus. We would, in this context, be launching special tourism campaigns in ASEAN countries during the course of this year. We would also be happy to facilitate similar campaigns in India from ASEAN countries.

Excellencies,

This is my 3rd Summit Meeting with ASEAN colleagues. I have always been struck by the warmth and friendship that all of you bear for my country and me. I am personally committed to the deepening of the India - ASEAN relationship. I look forward to working closely with all of you for the shared vision of well being and prosperity for the peoples of our countries.

I thank you."