By N. Parthasarathi Indian ambassador to Korea
The inaugural East Asia Summit being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Dec. 14, is in more ways than one a historic event.
The East Asia Summit brings together countries with increasing inter-linkages and growing interdependence in a region that has emerged, and is likely to remain an increasingly important area of growth and influence globally.
The summit would be an occasion for the leaders of participating countries to articulate a strategic and responsible vision for the future of the region in the world.
India has been invited to the First East Asia Summit. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be participating in the summit. The idea of an East Asian Summit is in consonance with India's own long term perspective of development of the Asian region. The Prime Minister has already proposed in the 3rd India-ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane that the coming together of the East Asian countries would be an anchor of stability and prosperity for the region and beyond. It would constitute an arc of advantage across which there would be large scale movement of people, capital, ideas and creativity.
India's foreign policy aims at a comprehensive, productive, meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship with all countries in the world. In particular, in the past decade, India has been rapidly developing multifaceted relations and cooperation with ASEAN as well as with Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, in what is now being termed as India's 'extended neighborhood.'
There is tremendous scope for this engagement to deepen and strengthen existing areas of cooperation and explore new vistas.
India's growing role in political and economic spheres in the region and the world is gaining increasing recognition. The participation of India in the East Asia Summit is an indication of this growing role of India.
India is now actively engaged in the world economy and is playing a very proactive role in the World Trade Organization. We have concluded free trade agreements in SAARC, with Singapore and Thailand. There is optimism that in the next few years, we would see considerable increase in economic cooperation in Asia covering all major Asian economies and extending to Australia and New Zealand.
India's "Look East Policy" is now over a decade old. The fact that successive governments in India continued with these policies shows the extent of consensus there is within India of the validity and importance of this policy. India has been participating at summit level with ASEAN countries since 2002. The partnership will help in exploiting the synergies and complementarities between India and ASEAN.
India is a microcosm of the globe because of its sub-continental size and the population accounting for nearly one sixth of humanity. India has shown to the world that it is conscious of its responsibilities and there is greater understanding of India's security and strategic interests. India is the world's largest democracy and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Areas of strength in our economy are not confined to IT and biotechnology. India has entered into its second phase of liberalization, a phase of consolidation backed by strong domestic consensus. India believes that it is well placed to both contribute to globalization as well as reap its benefits. India's constructive contribution to the globalization process is well recognized.
By participating in the First East Asia Summit, India looks forward to comprehensive engagement with member countries. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had the foresight to prophesize, the 'emergence of Asia in world affairs will be a powerful influence for world peace.' The East Asia Summit is a major step forward in realizing this prophecy.
We are optimistic and confident the First East Asia Summit will pave the way for productive and constructive long-term partnerships in the region.
