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‘Dip in ASEAN-India trade should be a wake up call’

India said its trade relations with ASEAN have witnessed impressive growth, 10 times in 10 years, but a slight decline in bilateral trade last year with the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc should serve as a wake-up call.

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid, addressing the 11th ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, emphasised India’s keenness to further the process towards setting up the ASEAN Community by 2015. 

He announced the setting up of the ASEAN-India Centre in New Delhi, which would serve as a ‘resource to assist us, in particular, in implementing connectivity projects across the three dimensions: geographic; institutional; and people-to-people.’ 

He said: ‘India-ASEAN economic and commercial engagement has seen very impressive trade growth but it is very important that we do not rest on our 

laurels.’ 
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