PM calls for greater cooperation between India and E Asian countries

On Board Air India One, Jan 15 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for greater cooperation between India and East Asian countries in the area of civil nuclear energy and got support for his idea.

The proposal was made by Dr Singh at the 2nd East Asia Summit(EAS) held on the central Philippines island of Cebu today '' There was support for the proposition that nuclear energy, as an option to meet the need for clean energy, deserves greater attention of the international community,'' Dr Singh told journalists accompanying him on his way back from Cebu.

He said he hoped to hold further discussions on bilateral programmes in this area with countries of the region.

To a question, he said he did not discuss the India-US Civil Nuclear deal in the bilateral meetings that he had with leaders attending the two summits.

Apart from India and ten ASEAN countries, the EAS was attended by the Prime Ministers of China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

ASEAN brings together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam The 16 leaders signed the Cebu Declaration on Energy Security at the end of the summit, which basically discussed ways of deepening and widening the strategic, political and economic engagement among countries of the region.

Dr Singh outlined at the summit India's experience and efforts in the area of renewable sources of energy. In particular, he talked about the country's efforts to develop bio-diesel as a supplement and a partial substitute for petroleum, as well as its initiatives in the area of nuclear energy.

'' There was considerable support to the option offered by nuclear energy and energy efficiency strategies which would cause no environmental damage,'' he told journalists.

He also suggested that international and regional financial institutions should pay more attention to the financing of energy -- efficient technology and processes, research and development projects in the area of hydroelectricity.

The EAS also focused on other issues such as financial stability, promotion of competitiveness and human resource developement, environmental protection and early warning systems and networking of national systems for better disaster management.

Dr Singh also spoke at the summit about India's plan for an international university at the ancient seat of learning in Nalanda in Bihar.

'' It will recall the glorious past of Nalanda in the 5th century,'' he said According to him, there is a lot of interest in the proposal among the East Asian leaders who felt it should be implemented at the earliest Yesterday, the PM attended the 5th India-ASEAN summit, at which, among other things, the two sides overcame the last major hurdles in the way of a Free Trade Area(FTA) agreeement between them.

The negotiations for the agreement are now expected to be completed by July this year and it is likely to become effective from January 1 next year.

Dr Singh said leaders, who attended the India-ASEAN summit, expressed satisfation at the way India-ASEAN relations were growing.

He said India's cooperation with ASEAN countries in areas such as science and technology, energy, trade, investment and human resource development was helping the least developed nations among them such as Combodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

'' On the whole, the visit was purposeful, productive and achieved solid results,'' Dr Singh added.

On the sidelines of the two summits, Dr Singh had bilateral meetings with his counterparts from China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Myanmar.

He also had a meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines.

UNI