Envoys of six states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Thailand, Malayasia, Singapore, Laos, Brunei and Vietnam — on Thursday joined Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in expressing confidence that the ASEAN-India car rally 2012 would demonstrate enormous possibilities for people-to-people contact and promotion of trade and commerce between the north-east and ASEAN countries.
The Ambassadors and High Commissioners are here on a two-day visit to the State to take stock of preparations for the flag down ceremony of the rally to be hosted by Assam on December 17. Addressing a press conference jointly with them, Mr. Gogoi said the northeast had a lot of affinity with the ASEAN countries in cultural practices and food habits, besides historical links. It looked forward to enhancing trade, tourism and people-to-people links with these nations. Thailand Ambassador Pisan Manawapat said the car rally would demonstrate that it was indeed possible to travel by road from India to ASEAN through Myanmar and in the return direction through the gateway of north-east. Deputy Chief of Protocol at the External Affairs Ministry Sumit Seth said ASEAN was the focus of India’s Look East Policy. The ASEAN-India rally would be a marker of taking the relationship between India and ASEAN to new heights.
Assam Chief Secretary N.K. Das said the State was all set to host the flag down ceremony of the rally, which was being organised to demonstrate the geographical proximity of India and, more particularly, of the north-east with ASEAN countries, and renew and strengthen the age-old relationship. The India-ASEAN car rally was flagged off from Guwahati by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 22, 2004. The 2012 rally, to begin in Indonesia on November 26, will enter this State on December 16 via the Assam-Nagaland border and reach Guwahati on December 17. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma and ASEAN Trade Ministers are expected to attend the flag down ceremony here, to be followed by a conclave the same day. Confederation of Indian Industry, north-east, chairman Abhijit Barooah said that as both India and ASEAN were growing economies, it was the right opportunity to do business across the border. The CII has been providing technical support in organising the car rally.
The ASEAN envoys, who included Ambassador of Laos Thongphanh Syackhaphom, High Commissioner of Malaysia Dato’ Tan Seng Sung, Deputy High Commissioner, Singapore, Jonathan Tow, Ambassador of Vietnam Nguyen Thanh Tan and High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam Dato Paduka Sidek Bin Ali, later visited the Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary in central Assam.
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