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Sinha keen on better India-ASEAN trade ties

Sujit Chatterjee

India on Monday proposed a three-pronged strategy to enhance cooperation with ASEAN, sharing intelligence to combat terrorism and having an annual trillion-dollar turnover by focusing on two-way investment, and transfer of technology.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who arrived in Phnom Penh on Monday evening to address the first-ever India-ASEAN Summit, would tell the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders that India is ready to play a major role in the South East Asian and the Far East regions, especially helping in the development of Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

India "would like to focus on three areas -- two-way investment, mutual transfer of technology and free trade arrangement and lay a road map for economic cooperation. There are tremendous opportunities for Indian investment in ASEAN states," External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters on board the Prime Minister's special aircraft.

Sinha said besides highlighting the importance of cooperation in combating terrorism, the Prime Minister would seek "serious discussion" to further deepen ties with the ASEAN.

Besides efforts to bring about a free trade zone agreement with the ASEAN, India, he said, would also extend help in development of four of the new ASEAN Member-- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam -- which are among the lesser developed ones in the grouping.

Sinha also said India was laying emphasis on furthering defence ties with the grouping.

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