With commerce, culture and connectivity driving India-ASEAN relations, Vice President Hamid Ansari today said the ties were poised to scale new heights as he held talks with top Cambodian leadership here to boost investment to bolster India's engagement in the region.
Ansari, who is here on a three-day visit, held wide- ranging talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace which was followed by delegation-level parleys and signing of two MoUs - one on tourism and the other on "quick impact projects".
Under the MoU on "quick impact projects" undertaken by India, there were five projects in all as part of the Mekong- Ganga Cooperation initiative - two in healthcare, one on women's empowerment through information and communication technology, one on agriculture and a fifth on a USD 50,000 grant by India for the entrepreneur development centre in existence since 2004.
In his meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Ansari conveyed the decision of the Indian government to support several projects under the cooperation programme targeting the health sector, agriculture and women's empowerment.
"We hope that these projects would benefit local communities, and contribute to improvement of public welfare," Ansari said in an address delivered at the Office of the Council of Ministers, the first such address by a top foreign leader.
Both sides discussed possibilities of shoring up of trade and investment, and agreed that the bilateral investment protection agreement must be signed as soon as possible, Secretary East Anil Wadhwa told a media briefing.
In the ASEAN context, there was a mention of last year's announcement by India of a USD 1 billion seed capital for connectivity projects, Wadhwa said.
Talking about India-ASEAN ties, Ansari in his address said, "the current economic relationship between India and ASEAN countries presents a multitude of industrial, commercial, and investment opportunities."
Noting that Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam - countries among the ASEAN partners of particular interest to India, Ansari said these countries include some of the fastest-growing economies in the region and are primarily agrarian, enjoying a certain degree of macroeconomic stability in recent years, with vast potential for future development.
"This creates strong complementary interests between India and the countries in the region on the basis of a tripod: Commerce, Culture and Connectivity. These are sustained by more frequent political exchanges. The India- ASEAN relations are thus poised to scale new heights," the Vice President asserted.
"My visit to Cambodia underscores the importance India attaches to Cambodia as part of our increasing engagement with the region," he said.
