Kalam on three-nation tour
by Gaurav Srivastava

    New Delhi: President A P J Abdul Kalam today embarked on a ten-day three-nation visit to Singapore, Philippines and South Korea, in what many analysts say will be a bid to further India's 'Look East' policy. On the first leg of his tour, the President will visit Singapore till February three. From February three to six, he will be in the Philippines and from February six to nine, he will visit South Korea. The visit to South Korea will be the first ever to that country by an Indian President. Kalam is expected to focus on India's development goals and how these goals can benefit from an exchange and interchange of ideas and experience with these countries.

   While in Singapore, he will deliver the Singapore Lecture and interact with students and faculty of the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technical University. Kalam will also visit the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the Public Utility Board and a desalination plant there. Kalam is also likely to visit the Museum of Asian Civilisations and the Singapore Fine Arts Society. In the Philippines, the President will call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and will address their National Assembly. Kalam will later visit the IRRI and the PHIVOLCS in Quezon City, which looks into the cooperation in the volcanology and seismology. In South Korea, Kalam will meet senior South Korean leaders, including South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun. The two countries are expected explore the possibility of formalising a 'Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement' (CEPA). An agreement to set up a Joint Study Group to look into the prospects of developing CEPA is also likely to be signed by India and South Korea, besides some other agreements in customs, in science and technology. India's trade with the Republic of Korea is about five billion dollars. Korea is the fifth largest investor in India and energy is a key area of cooperation between. Kalam will also interact with locals, businessmen and the Indian community in these countries. Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, and three Members of Parliament -Sumitra Mahajan, Vanlalzawma, and Sachin Pilot are accompanying Kalam on his trip. Singh will join the trip from February 4. Singapore has been a very important partner of India in the region, in ASEAN. In June last year, during Prime Minister Lee's India visit, the two countries had signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which is the first of its kind that India has signed. There is a Joint Working Group between Indian and Singapore to cooperate in the field of terrorism and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

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