India, ASEAN looking at cooperation in MSME sector

Top Stories

»	49% Indian startups now from tier 2, 3 cities: Jitendra Singh
»	'India ranks 3rd in global startup ecosystem & number of unicorns'
»	Tripura exported over 9K tonnes of pineapples in 2 years
»	CPI inflation eases to 6.71% in July, IIP falls to 12.3%
»	Rupee depreciates 12 paise to close at 79.64 against US dollar

SME Times News Bureau | 17 Nov, 2011
The MEA Secretary has said that India and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) were looking at cooperation in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, reports media.

Sanjay Singh, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, noted that trade between India and ASEAN nations has been growing and expressed the confidence that the target of USD 70 billion to be achieved by 2012 will be met.

He aslo said that a number of joint projects were under consideration in various areas, including Information Technology and renewable energy. An MoU in the field of tourism between India and the 10-nation ASEAN grouping is on the anvil besides an agreement on air services, he said.

India will host India-ASEAN summit next year.

The 6th East Asia Summit, which the Prime Minister will attend, will also focus on connectivity and economic ties "against the backdrop of increasing importance of Asia in geo-political scenario", Sanjay Singh said.

The Summit of the 16-nation grouping will see the US and Russia participating for the first time as partners.

In the second leg of the trip, Singh will travel to Singapore for a bilateral visit, marking the first since 2002. He had visited Singapore in 2007 for India-ASEAN Summit. "The aim of the visit is to maintain high level of dialogue with Singapore, which is India's major partner in East Asia," the MEA Secretary said.

He said India and Singapore have robust relations in trade and investment and a fruitful dialogue in the field of defence as both share concern over terrorism and security issues.