India Will Work Closely With Asean To Explore Opportunities For Cooperation

By MINGGU SIMON LHASA BANGKOK, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- India will work closely with Asean to explore new opportunities for cooperation to fully utilise the potentials of the Dialogue Relations. It also committed to supporting Asean's centrality in the evolving regional architecture, said India’s first resident Ambassador to Asean, Suresh K. Reddy. He said this when presenting his Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of Asean, Le Luong Minh, yesterday at the Asean Secretariat. In a press release, Asean Secretariat in Jakarta said Reddy reiterated the importance his Government attaches to its relations with Asean and the Asean Member States, and the desire of his Government to further strengthen the Asean-India strategic partnership. Minh who welcomed and congratulated Ambassador Reddy on his official assumption of duty, welcomed the renewed commitment of India to further trengthen ties with Asean. He assured the readiness of the Asean Secretariat to work closely with Reddy in order to enhance the multi-faceted Asean-India cooperation and encouraged India to continue to support and contribute to the common endeavour of Asean in its Community building by 2015 and beyond. Meanwhile, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Asean, Moazzam Malik, today presented his Letter of Credence to Minh. Malik conveyed his Government’s commitment to further strengthen ties with Asean and its Member States, and expressed readiness to explore cooperation for mutual benefits, said the Asean Secretariat in a statement. In response, Minh who congratulated Malik on his assumption of duty and welcomed the interest of the UK to explore cooperation with Asean, further encouraged the UK to continue to support Asean in its community building efforts. -- BERNAMA