Manmohan Singh heads for Hanoi to attend ASEAN, East-Asia Summits

HANOI - As part of India’s Look East policy which aims at furthering and strengthening its interests in the entire East Asia and South East Asia Region, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh arrives here on Thursday to take part in the 17th ASEAN Summit and other related Summits that are scheduled for tomorrow.

A number of Summits and meetings will be held in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi during the three-day visit of Dr Manmohan Singh, which includes eighth India-ASEAN Summit and the fifth East Asia Summit.

India and Malaysia earlier on Wednesday signed an agreement to implement Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which will come into force from July next year.

The agreement is expected to take their two-way trade to 15 billion dollar by 2015.

The two nations have also signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in the areas of information technology and services, traditional medicine, cultural exchanges and research and development.

Earlier during Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan, the two nations announced the firming up of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which will open trade between the two countries and slashing of taxes up to 94 percent over the next decade.

“The two Prime Ministers had comprehensive discussions and felt the need for developing all encompassing relations covering political, economy and security aspects,” said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao summing up Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan.

The two nations also decided to establish a ministerial level ‘Economic Dialogue’ between India and Japan to give strategic and long-term policy orientation to their bilateral engagement.

The Prime Minister returns home on October 30. (ANI)