ASEAN urged to include India

ASEAN urged to include India

NEW DELHI (Reuter): A senior European Commission official on Monday urged the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to include India in a planned summit linking the European Union and Asia.

European Commission Vice-President Manuel Marin said the summit, tentatively set for the end of 1995 or early 1996 in Bangkok, could not pretend to be Asian in scope unless India was included.

ASEAN is debating whether to limit the meeting to its members -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- as well as EU member states, or to include other Asian nations, Marin told a news conference.

"If there is a summit between Asia and Europe, India needs to be there," he said. "Asia is not only the southeast."

A European Commission official said the summit would bring together heads of state to discuss strengthening ties between the EU and Asia, although it might be downgraded to ministerial level.