The India-ASEAN Partnership & beyond
It is a great pleasure to be here among eminent business representatives from ASEAN, East Asia and India. Icongratulate the organizers of this first ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. Events like these providevaluable opportunities for interaction among business and industry of our countries and for exchange ofperspectives between Governments and industry.
While the 20th century economy was driven by capital accumulation, manufacturing technologies and labourpower, the 21st century is defined by knowledge and human capital. It is this that gives strength to the Asianidentity. There is an emerging perception that this will be the century of Asia’s pre-eminence. The brainpower of Asian scientists and engineers, the dynamism of our businessmen and industrialists, our intellectualand human resource capital – all these support this perception. The growing economic weight of Asia isstrengthened by favourable demographic trends, and is no longer constrained by Cold War divisions.