Krishna meets ASEAN leaders to boost bilateral ties

New Delhi, Feb 13 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met his Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts here on Monday for talks aimed at boosting trade and security ties.

Krishna held talks in New Delhi with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to discuss economic and capacity-building issues.

He also met his Thai counterpart Surapong Tovichakchaikul and Singapore's Junior Foreign Minister Masagos Zulkifli Bin Masagos Mohamad later in the day.

The two-day Delhi Dialogue, the fourth in a series that began in 2009, is organized annually by the Foreign Ministry in a bid to enhance engagement with the ASEAN group.

The theme for this year's meet is 'India and ASEAN: Partners for Peace, Progress and Stability'.

The ten-member ASEAN group is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Delhi Dialogue IV is being organized against the backdrop of an important milestone in the ASEAN-India relationship. 2012 marks 20 years of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership and 10 years of Summit level partnership.

Political leaders, policy makers, senior officials, diplomats, business leaders, think tanks and academics from both sides would be participating in the discussions spread over two days. (ANI)