“I have returned this evening from a journey to Vientiane in Laos where I participated in the India-ASEAN Summit. This was a journey which in some senses began more than a decade ago when we started to look Eastwards as part of our essential foreign policy orientation.

The end of the Cold War and dissipation of bloc rivalries opened up new possibilities for regional economic co-operation. This created the space for our turning Eastwards to engage with ASEAN, which even then had the potential to become a catalyst of economic integration in our region. Since that time ASEAN has enlarged and grown stronger. Our own economic growth has been steady and sustained. The potential for beneficial co-operation was seen by both sides at this time and has become increasingly apparent.

The ASEAN Summit partners together account for half the world’s population, a trade turnover larger than NAFTA, an income level comparable to the EU, a huge manufacturing hub and a massive market. The logic of our partnership with ASEAN is self-evident.

Earlier this afternoon I met the leaders of the ten ASEAN states in a formal Summit format. Our deliberations concerned a broad range of issues – regional and international, and an analysis of the experience and potential of India-ASEAN co-operation.

I proposed several initiatives to my ASEAN colleagues. These include the offer of concessional lines of credits of up to $200 million for collaborative projects within the ASEAN countries, an India-ASEAN high speed optical fibre link, development of a net portal through which ASEAN members would be able to utilise a system we have developed called ‘Shruti-Drishti’ for visually impaired persons to use the Internet, joint R&D of medicines and cross-border disease control, as well co-operation in the field of agriculture including exchange of germ plasm and harmonisation of regulatory mechanisms. We have also proposed hosting a workshop to evolve a concept paper on an Asian Economic Community which would encompass India, ASEAN, Japan, China and Korea.

Over and beyond the formal summit there were other important events and meetings. I joined the Prime Minister of Laos and ASEAN leaders in flagging off the 2nd leg of the India-ASEAN Car Rally this afternoon. Only last week, on the 22nd I had flagged off the Rally at its start in Guwahati. This event has illustrated most graphically the links that bind India and ASEAN, and the potential that good connectivity between us will unleash.

ASEAN meetings are notable for the opportunities for other interaction on the margins. I had very rewarding meetings with the President and PM of Laos. I had separate bilateral meetings with other ASEAN dignitaries - the President of Indonesia and PMs of Vietnam and Singapore. I also had significant meetings with other dignitaries who were present for their own Summits with ASEAN leaders. This morning I met the Prime Ministers of China and Australia and last evening I met the Prime Minister of Japan. PM Koizumi in particular welcome my proposal for creating an “arc of stability” and prosperity through an Asian Economic Community as a counterpoise to the arc of instability to our West.

This is a process of regional economic integration on which we have embarked. During my visit we placed two concrete markers; we signed a document entitled the ASEAN-India partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity which contains the vision for our future co-operation. This document has not just been proposed and agreed by government, but has also benefitted from inputs from others in industry, academia, think-tanks etc. We also agreed on implementing the Early Harvest provisions of the India-ASEAN FTA signed in Bali last year. We hope to implement this soon and this will give a fillip to this process."