PM concludes Bali visit, leaves for Singapore

Kaul Bali (Indonesia), Nov 19: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Nov 19) concluded his three-day visit to Bali, where he attended the India-ASEAN meet and East Asia Summit, besides holding talks with US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.

At the East Asia Summit today, Singh cited the Eurozone crisis and pitched for greater economic integration between Indian and East Asia to contribute to the world economy.

Addressing the India-ASEAN Summit, he highlighted the need for greater connectivity and cooperation on security issues, including maritime security, counter-terrorism, training, exercises and disaster management.

During his more than hour-long meeting with US president yesterday, Singh told Obama that India had gone "some way" to allay the concerns of US firms by notifying rules for nuclear business and any specific grievance would be addressed within the "four corners" of Indian laws.

His remarks came against the backdrop of apprehensions among US firms that Indian liability laws were not supplier friendly. The Prime Minister, who left here for Singapore for a two-day visit, also held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wen yesterday against the backdrop of the South China Sea issue row and told him that India's oil exploration in the disputed maritime area is "purely commercial activity".

Singh also had a 'pull-aside' meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard who made it clear that she would take forward her proposal to lift ban on uranium sale to India.

PTI