Vice President Hamid Ansari returns after attending ASEM Summit in Mongolia

New Delhi, Jul 16: Vice President Hamid Ansari returned home on Saturday night from Mongolia where he attended the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit and held a number of bilateral meetings with leaders from the region.

During the visit, Ansari, who was the lead speaker for the Plenary Session on Promoting ASEM Partnership for Greater Connectivity, made a strong pitch for the need to isolate sponsors and financiers of terror and urged the leaders to go beyond condemnation to practical action.

The ASEM meeting also deliberated upon issues arising out of recent developments affecting the Korean Peninsula and maritime security, including preservation of global commons in accordance with the international conventions.

Ansari, during his stay in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, also held a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. Ansari and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today met in the Mongolian capital and discussed bilateral and mutual interest issues.

The Vice President also held separate bilateral meetings with Prime Minister of Estonia Taavi Roivas and Prime Minister of Lithuania Algirdas Butkevicius. He held a bilateral meeting with Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis.

Ansari yesterday held talks with the top Mongolian leadership and the Prime Ministers of Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ASEM comprises of 53 entities - 51 countries from Asia and Europe and two regional bodies - the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat.

It represents around 62.3 per cent of the world's population, 57.2 per cent of the global GDP and almost 60 per cent of the world's trade. India's engagement with ASEM began in 2007 and has since actively participated at the Summits level and Foreign Ministers' Meeting held biennially.

PTI