Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Tuesday goes to Thai island resort Phuket to attend Asia’s biggest annual security gathering that will be dominated by terrorism, the North Korean nuclear issue and the global financial crisis.
Krishna will represent India at the post-ministerial meeting of the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)- Asia’s top security forum that will be attended by foreign ministers of 27 countries, including the US, Russia and the EU.

The external affairs minister’s three-day visit to Thailand underlines the growing importance of ‘Look East policy’ in India’s foreign policy. India has enormous stakes in peace and stability in the economically vibrant East Asian region that boasts an annual output of $1.1 trillion and represents more than half the world’s population.

Krishna is likely to meet the foreign ministers of China, Japan and Australia, among others, on the sidelines of the security meet, sources said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will also be in Phuket for the 16th ARF meeting. But it’s not clear yet whether Krishna will meet Qureshi so soon after their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh last week.

With recent bombings in Jakarta, terrorism has climbed to top of the agenda of ARF meeting that will also see 27 countries debating issues like a regional human rights council to tackle violators like Myanmar, North Korea missile tests and the global financial crisis.

India and ASEAN have finalised a free trade area agreement (FTA) in goods, scheduled to be implemented from Jan 1, 2010. Discussions on agreements in investment and services will start soon. The FTA seeks to eliminate tariffs on over 4,000 products, which include items ranging from chemicals to electronics.

India is a dialogue partner at ASEAN which comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Brunei.