Vice President leaves for Mongolia to attend ASEM Summit

Vice President Hamid Ansari today left for Mongolia leading an Indian delegation to the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit.
The two-day ASEM Summit will be held in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia from tomorrow.
The theme for the Summit is "20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity".
At the Summit, India's efforts would be inclined towards more successful outcomes and the building of a resilient and multidimensional web of interconnectivity between the two continents - Asia and Europe, officials said ahead of the meeting.
ASEM comprises of 53 entities - 51 countries from Asia and Europe and two regional bodies - the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat.

It represents around 62.3 per cent of the world's population, 57.2 per cent of the global GDP and almost 60 per cent of the world's trade.

ASEM is a unique platform that serves to bridge the two continents of Asia and Europe for constructive partnership and exchange, under the three key pillars of political dialogue, economic collaboration and socio-cultural exchanges, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The 11th ASEM Summit assumes special importance in view of the fact, that 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the dialogue forum, officials said.
Since the Summit is the first ever international event of such stature that Mongolia is hosting, the participation of Vice President Ansari signifies the importance India attaches to its strategic partnership with Mongolia, they said.

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The membership of NAM comprises 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and two from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). There are 17 countries and 10 international organisations that are Observers at NAM.
The Non Aligned Movement came into being 55 years ago when leaders of 25 developing countries met at the 1961 Belgrade Conference.
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