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New Delhi, Oct 9: For the first time India will be participating in the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) summit in Beijing later in October.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh accompanied by senior officials will be attending the meeting as an invitee from October 24-25, where the head of states and governments of 45 European countries & the European Commission, with their counterparts from Asian countries will be attending.
The 7th ASEM summit is the first multilateral meeting that the Prime Minister will be attending soon after the historic nuclear agreements with both the US and France.
According to official sources, Singh is expected to hold bilateral talks with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao of China on the sidelines of the ASEM summit.
Ahead of the ASEM summit, Singh is slated to hold bilateral talks with the new Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso during his two day visit to that country on October 20.
Further expansion of cooperation and dialogue between Asia and Europe on a gamut of issues including multilateral trade, nuclear non-proliferation, terrorism and security issues are topping the agenda of the ASEM summit.
Founded in 1996, ASEM’s invitees include China, Japan, South Korea, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, the 10 nations of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Secretariat, the 27 nations of the European Union, and the European Commission. India, along with Pakistan and Mongolia, were invited to join the ASEM only two years ago.
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