With most of the South East Asian countries hit by terrorism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said countries in the region have agreed to exchange of information and intelligence among them to combat the menace.
Faced with high energy costs hitting economies of the region, leaders of Association of South East Asian Nations and their dialogue partners on Monday agreed to strengthen regional cooperation on energy security
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
The stock and bond markets told Trump firmly that any idea of isolating China would lead to harming the US economy and this forced Trump to backtrack, points out Aakar Patel.
Differences among the Association of South-East Asian Nations came to the fore on Tuesday night when 10 heads of governments aborted a briefing by United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on the Myanmar situation after Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein strongly opposed the move.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
"We will intensify our engagement with Association of South East Asian Nations, China, and India to press the Burmese leadership to reform and to participate responsibly in the international community," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Public Affairs, Kurt Campbell said.
On the sidelines of the India-ASEAN summit, Prime Minister Singh might also have bilateral meetings with some of the leaders.
Aiming to give fillip to India's Look East policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to announce new initiatives to take forward ties with the ASEAN by setting up a mission and appointing an ambassador for the 10-member grouping.
India and South Korea have reached an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, marking the ninth such pact that New Delhi has finalised since getting the Nuclear Suppliers' Group waiver in 2008.
India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed an FTA in goods in August last year and are engaged in intense negotiations to expand this pact to include services and investments.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, whose last engagement in his 4-day visit to Vietnam was an Indian community reception hosted by Ambassador Ranjit Rae on Thursday afternoon, described the community as an important agent to expand the economic, commercial and technological ties with the Association of South East Asian Nations, Asean. Around 300 Indians from various backgrounds attended the reception.
Government officials said the Asean FTA, as well as a similar pact with South Korea involving free trade of goods, services and investment, could be signed on the sidelines of the summit of Asean nations, scheduled in October this year. The India-South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is also ready for signing, sources added.
To strengthen closer and enduring partnership with countries of Association of South East Asian Nations region as part of India's Look-East policy, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil left on Thursday for a state visit to Laos from September 9 to 13 and Cambodia from September 13 to 18.
The CEPAs with South Korea and Japan are likely to be concluded in September and October, respectively. While the pact with South Korea is likely to have only a moderate impact on the economic relationship between the two countries, the one with Japan will immensely help the Indian industry in gaining market access in the world's second largest economy. Currently, bilateral trade between India and Japan, which is currently close to $4 billion.
"The Chinese premier underlined that whatever anybody might say, India and China are friendly neighbours and have a common view of how the world should be looked at," Naraynan said.
ASEAN's dialogue partners are -- Australia, China, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US.
According to a senior commerce department official, talks between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) - the 10-country trading bloc - have hit a roadblock, with some of the advanced developing countries demanding greater flexibilities from India.
The pact on trade in goods under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement was signed by Indian commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma and ASEAN economic ministers after more than six years of intense negotiations.
The issue at hand is not ASEAN versus Chindia, but ASEAN plus Chindia. Given the strengths of ASEAN and the growing muscle of India and China, the scope for constructive cooperation is immense, he said.
He also reiterated India's strong support in the fight against terrorism with Sri Lanka, which saw the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday.
The mini truck and passenger vehicle, which together crossed the 1-million sales mark in August, are already present in 24 countries.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday briefed United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Pakistan's investigation into the Mumbai terror attacks and the trial of suspects linked to the incident.
The 10-nation regional block of Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN), and not China and India, is the leading destination of America's foreign direct investment, a top US trade official said Monday.
Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday clamped emergency in Bangkok and ordered tanks into the streets as he struggled to contain spiralling anti-government protests, a day after demonstrators forced the postponement of a summit between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations.
In a significant move to strengthen economic ties, India and 10 Association of South East Asian nations on Tuesday decided to set up a Regional Trade and Investment Area
The 10-member ASEAN described the Indo-US nuclear deal as an extremely positive step, hoping that the two countries would be able to conclude the pact soon.
Close on the heels of a Free Trade Agreement with Thailand, India is now focusing on signing more such trade deals with member countries of Association of South East Asian Nations, MERCOSUR
Under the services sector, India had been demanding greater opening, so that more professionals like doctors, nurses, chefs, accountants get greater job opportunities.
India is the only country which has a negative list incorporated in a trade pact with Asean.
Notwithstanding their differences on the boundary question, India and China on Wednesday vowed to deepen their multi-faceted ties for a "lasting friendship" as Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Phuket.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard will visit India sometime early next year. \n\n
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances