New Delhi, Oct 02: As part of its 'Look East' policy, India will sign with the ten-member Asean a major 'framework agreement' as a precursor to a free trade arrangement during a regional summit to be attended by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Bali in Indonesia next week. Vajpayee had suggested at the first India-Asean summit last year in Phnom Penh in Cambodia that New Delhi and the grouping should enter into a free trade agreement.
"It is matter of great satisfaction to us that the framework agreement for this purpose has been finalised between India and Asean and will signed at the second India-Asean summit at Bali in a few days from now," External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said earlier this week while addressing members of the Harvard faculty in the U.S.
Sinha said "this major breakthrough should contribute significantly to an increasing integration of the India- Asean economic space over the coming years, including a free trade agreement".
Vajpayee would also pay a bilateral visit to Thailand next week in the second leg of his two-nation tour and hold wide-ranging talks on terrorism and other key issues with the Thai leadership.
The fight against terror is also expected to figure high on Vajpayee's agenda during his meeting with Asean leaders in Bali.
Indonesia is currently the chair of the grouping, which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Bureau Report