PM to hold bilateral talks on sidelines of ASEAN-India meet

Other bilateral meetings will be with Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos on the margins of the two-day event, to be attended by nine heads of government and one Vice-President.

The Summit will begin with a Plenary Session on Thursday and will also go through the report prepared by ASEAN Eminent Persons Group (EPG).

EPG is a group of prominent citizens from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries and is tasked to create the charter of the ASEAN community.

Asked if the contentious issues in commercial sector will also be taken up by India during these bilateral meetings, Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs Sanjay Bhattacharya said, "Obviously, when the leaders meet everything is on the table."

The last Summit was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 20 November 2012 during which Singh had held bilateral meetings with leaders from Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.

It was decided that the meetings with the leaders of all the ASEAN countries will be spread on the margins of these two Summits, official spokesperson in the MEA said.

ASEAN, a geo-political and economic organisation of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, was formed on August 8, 1967.