ASEAN-INDIA

The First Meeting of the ASEAN-India Joint Cooperation Committee (AIJCC) was held in New Delhi in November 1996. The AIJCC agreed to set up two working groups, one on science and technology, the other on trade and investment. The Meeting also agreed that ASEAN and India would work closely in tourism, human resources development, infrastructure, and in facilitating people-to-people contact.

ASEAN and India agreed to launch the ASEAN-India Lecture Series to promote awareness of the potential in ASEAN-India cooperation. The two sides also agreed to commission a study on establishing and/or strengthening India's centres on Southeast Asian studies and India study centres in ASEAN Member Countries. India has contributed over US$500,000 to the ASEAN-India Fund since 1994.

India has proposed a joint effort to set up an informatics training centre in ASEAN on a commercially sustainable basis. In addition, she has offered to provide on-line training facilities and equipment to open the proposed centre as well as 100 training scholarships for ASEAN nationals to train at the centre each year. The National Institute for Information Technology in India is finalizing the project proposal.