India’s External Affairs Minister Shri Salman Khurshid is scheduled to attend the 11th India-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the 3rd East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 20th ASEAN Regional Forum meeting from June 30-July 2.

The minister’s attendance was announced by spokesman of the Indian External Affairs Ministry Syed Akbaruddin at a press conference in New Delhi on June 29.

India’s External Affairs Minister Shri Salman Khurshid (left) meets with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh in January 2013

Following these events, the Indian Minister will visit Singapore on July 3-4, the spokesman also said.

On the relations between India and ASEAN, the spokesman said following the successful summit meeting last December in New Delhi, India has continued to interact with ASEAN in a rather intensive manner.

Currently, India and ASEAN have 25 mechanisms serving their interactions in a wide range of fields, like foreign affairs, trade, agriculture, tourism, the environment and new and renewable energy.

India expects to receive 250 students from ASEAN member countries to visit this year.

It will continue providing a special course at its Foreign Service Institute for ASEAN diplomats.

India has about 1,100 ITEC scholarships for ASEAN countries and is examining the possibility of establishing additional English language centres in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Trade volume between India and ASEAN has been growing rapidly, expanding over 37 percent to reach 79 billion USD in 2012.

The two sides are targeting the 100 billion USD mark by 2015.

(Source: VNA)