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.