The Fifth ASEAN-India Summit was held successfully on 14 January 2007 in Cebu, Philippines. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines and was attended by the Heads of State/Government of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minster of the Republic of India.

We, the Heads of State and/or Government of ASEAN Member Countries and India, had comprehensive exchange of views on regional and international developments and discussed ways to further enhance the partnership.

We expressed satisfaction with the overall achievement of ASEAN-India dialogue relations.

We acknowledged the deepening and broadening of ASEAN-India dialogue relations covering the areas of trade, investment, tourism, science and technology, information and communication technology, and human resource development, and people-to-people contacts.

We welcomed India’s “Look East Policy” and as shown by India’s interest in entering into Free Trade or Comprehensive Economic Partnerships with ASEAN member countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

We expressed confidence that with the successful conclusion of ASEAN and India Economic Ministers Meeting which was held on 11 January 2007, on-going negotiations for the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) would achieve the mandate set by the Leaders on July 2007.

We look forward to the launch of a dialogue between ASEAN and India on an Open Skies Agreement that would liberalize air services between ASEAN and India and foster interaction and movement between the peoples of Southeast Asia and India. Enhancing people to people contact can be further complemented with special tourism campaigns.

We acknowledged that connectivity shall be further enhanced with the establishment of transport networks between India and CLMV countries. We welcomed India’s active participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum, East Asia Summit, and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation.

We welcomed the Progress Report of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity signed at the Third ASEAN-India Summit on 30 November 2004 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

We acknowledged the implementation of priority projects proposed at the 4th ASEAN-India Summit in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005, and acknowledged the implementation of two of these projects, namely: the one-month Special Course for Diplomats from ASEAN Countries held in India on 21 August-22 September 2006 and the ASEAN-India Technology Summit and Technology Platform (TSTP) that was likewise held in India on 6-7 November 2006. We welcome India’s offer to institutionalize the training course for the diplomats from the ASEAN Countries. The ASEAN-India Technology Summit calls for collaborative research and technology, pharmaceuticals, agriculture for food security, and advanced materials and plans to establish an ASEAN-India Science and Technology Fund.

We look forward to the early implementation of other projects of mutual interest to ASEAN and India such as 1) ASEAN-India IT Ministerial and IT Industry Forum; 2) ASEAN e-Network Project-Establishing a VSAT-based Tele-Education and Tele-Medicine Network to connect Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV); and 3) Indian Education Fairs in ASEAN Countries.

We agreed to further enhance ties in the area of human resource development by pursuing cross-linkages for research and development, conducting Indian education fairs in ASEAN countries, and encouraging exchange of scholars between ASEAN and Indian institutes of higher learning. Similarly, we acknowledge India’s efforts at establishing Centers for English Language Training (CELT) as well as an Entrepreneurship Development Center (EDC) in Lao PDR after having successfully completed the establishment of similar EDCs in Cambodia and Viet Nam.

We acknowledged India’s cultural and religious influence in Asia and in other parts of the world. Indian advancements in the field of film production is widely known and we encouraged the establishment of joint ventures between Indian and ASEAN film companies to showcase Asian culture and diversity.

We expressed appreciation to India for its contribution to the ASEAN Development Fund and the ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund which shall be utilized to support various projects approved under the 4th ASEAN-India Summit and the ASEAN-India Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity.

We agreed to establish humanitarian assistance networks and tsunami early warning systems as well as improve disaster preparedness and management.

We expressed concern over the threat posed by terrorism to the region and the global community, and reaffirmed our resolve to implement the 2003 Joint Declaration for Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism (CCIT) through the sharing of information and joint activities by our law enforcement agencies. We also resolved to jointly address the problems of arms smuggling, drug trafficking, and the trafficking of women and children.

We recognized India’s leadership in the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, and traditional medicines and we expressed confidence that ASEAN can greatly benefit in these areas through technology transfer.

We expressed confidence that India could play a role in pushing for the resumption of the stalled talks of the Doha Development Round in the World Trade Organization (WTO).