Vice President Hamid Ansari leaves for Mongolia to attend ASEM Summit

New Delhi, Jul 14: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday left for Mongolia leading an Indian delegation to the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit.

The two-day ASEM Summit will be held in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia from tomorrow. The theme for the Summit is "20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity".

At the Summit, India's efforts would be inclined towards more successful outcomes and the building of a resilient and multidimensional web of interconnectivity between the two continents - Asia and Europe, officials said ahead of the meeting.

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.

ASEM is a unique platform that serves to bridge the two continents of Asia and Europe for constructive partnership and exchange, under the three key pillars of political dialogue, economic collaboration and socio-cultural exchanges, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The 11th ASEM Summit assumes special importance in view of the fact, that 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the dialogue forum, officials said.

Since the Summit is the first ever international event of such stature that Mongolia is hosting, the participation of Vice President Ansari signifies the importance India attaches to its strategic partnership with Mongolia, they said.

Ansari will also hold bilateral meetings with a few other participating leaders on the sidelines of the Summit.

PTI