Rituparna Kakati | 13 Dec, 2017
The
Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad and the Minister of
State Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju addressed a function in nNew Delhi to
celebrate 50 years of ASEAN and 25 years of India-ASEAN Partnership.
Speaking on the occasion, Ravi Shankar
Prasad said the ASEAN countries proudly flaunt their cultural moorings rooted
in ancient India. He said the 3 C’s - Culture, Connectivity and Commerce will
shape our ties with the ASEAN bloc.
The
importance New Delhi attaches to ASEAN is evident from the fact that leaders of
all the ten ASEAN member nations will attend our next Republic Day
celebrations, he added.
Addressing the gathering, Kiren Rijiju said the Union Ministry of Home Affairs
has started opening various channels on the borders to foster relations with
neighbours, particularly in Eastern and North-Eastern Region (NER).
The Land Ports Authority of
India has taken up expansion of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Moreh in
Manipur for expansion of trade with Myanmar, India’s gateway to the ASEAN, and
it will be inaugurated soon. He said the ICP in Agartala on Bangladesh border
has started and few more ICPs besides Land Customs Stations and Border Haats
will be set up.
Pointing out that India does not mean we start and end up with New Delhi, Rijiju
said a country begins from its borders and India has vast borders.
Rijiju said East Asia and South East Asia stretching from Japan and China and
upto India is emerging as the world’s next economic powerhouse. India cannot be
delineated from South East Asia and East Asia, he added.
