PM-DEPARTURE 2LST

In the second part of the visit, Singh will travel to
Malaysia on October 26 and hold talks with Prime Minister Mohd
Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
"I will seek new areas of understanding with Prime
Minister Najib that reinforce the rich bonds of history and
culture that unite us," he said.
The Prime Minister said he expects that his visit will
lead to greater integration of the two economies and
cooperation in the areas of infrastructure development,
railways, knowledge industries, energy, defence and greater
people-to-people exchanges.
"In today's unsettled world, it is all the more
important for societies that are democratic, multi-religious
and multicultural to work together. We share a special bond
with Malaysia because it is home to one of the largest People
of Indian Origin communities of over two million," he said.
During the visit, the two sides will sign a number of
pacts and announce conclusion of negotiations on Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which covers range of
trade aspects, including investment, services and customs.
The agreement is expected to be signed in March next
year.
In Hanoi, Singh will attend the ASEAN-India Summit and
East Asia Summit, which will look at ways to strengthen
cooperation in various fields.
The issues that will figure include the broad-based
trading agreement that will go beyond the Free Trade Agreement
which was signed earlier this year covering goods and
services.
"I will discuss with the ASEAN leaders a road map for
our future cooperation which will be reflected in an
India-ASEAN Plan of Action for 2010-2015," Singh said.
The Prime Minister noted that in its short period of
existence, the EAS process has made significant progress.
"This year's Summit is expected to welcome the US and
Russia into the EAS process," he said and added that he will
update the EAS leaders on steps taken by India on the revival
of the Nalanda University, which was endorsed by the Summit in
2009.
Other issues that will be discussed are energy
cooperation, climate change and disaster mitigation. PTI AKK
PBL


The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain
proprietary, confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify
the sender immediately and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments
contained in it.