Back to Index

Nalanda project to revive ancient links: Pranab
by Pankaj Chaudhary

          Manila: India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has expressed hope that the Nalanda University project will reinforce the soft linkages between India and Asia Pacific countries. Briefing the media after attending the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' meeting here today, Mukjherjee said that he had informed the meeting of the progress in developing the project, which was proposed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the EAS Summit in Cebu in January this year. He said a Nalanda Mentor Group has been appointed under the chairmanship of Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen. Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo is also a member of the group, which had its first meeting in Singapore on July 13-14. Calling the EAS forum an opportunity to create a regional architecture for cooperation and deeper integration in the Asia- Pacific region, Mukherjee said there is immense scope for enhancement of current levels of regional cooperation within it. He further recalled Manmohan Singh's vision of an Asian Economic Community stretching from the Himalayas to the Pacific, which would be an "arc of advantage" and would facilitate free flow of people, ideas, trade and investment across the region. Mukherjee also announced a proposal to hold the EAS meeting on disaster management in November this year in New Delhi. Earlier in the day, Mukherjee met Foreign Ministers of Malaysia, Australia and Laos on the sidelines of the EAS meeting. He reaffirmed India's friendly relations with Laos during his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of that country, and reiterated New Delhi's commitment to assist the country in its development. Mukherjee arrived here yesterday to attend the ASEAN Region Foreign Ministers conference, which is will be dominated by economic issues like free trade agreement, apart from maritime security and energy.
- July 31,  2007