Indian PM wants to bolster ASEAN trade ties

INDIA, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to bolster trade with his country and promised steps to expand links with the 10-nation bloc.

Singh, on the eve of flying to attend the bloc's annual summit, also said New Delhi wanted to forge closer political and diplomatic ties with the grouping, also known as ASEAN.

"Our trade with the ASEAN countries has grown rapidly and surpassed our expectations," Singh said in a statement in New Delhi.

"I will discuss with the ASEAN leaders new measures to expand the horizons of our cooperation to include not just greater economic integration, but also people-to-people contacts, science and technology, health, transport, human resource development, and information and communication technology."

India's current trade with ASEAN stands at around 30 billion dollars.

India is currently a dialogue partner of the 40-year-old bloc, which brings together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

New Delhi, Tuesday, AFP