India, ASEAN to pursues environmental projects

Dicky Christanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Fri, 04/25/2008 12:11 PM  |  World

The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry's Secretary-General Imron Cotan said here Thursday that India and ASEAN countries have agreed to accelerate green projects as part of Indonesia's efforts to tackle climate change.

He said the projects included forest preservation and research studies aimed at improving agricultural products.

Student and parliamentarian exchange programs were also discussed during the 10th India-ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting held in Nusa Dua Bali.

"Right now we are running a preservation program called the Heart of Borneo, where we try to preserve Borneo's forests...so that it can continue to function as one of the world's 'green lungs'," he told reporters.

India, considered a regional power along with China, has been establishing partnerships with other countries in Asia since 1992. It has so far spent up to US$11.2 million on strengthening regional relationships.

India's Ministry of External Affairs Secretary Neelakanta Ravi said he was upbeat about the discussion, as it would encourage programs to be set up that were proposed by Asian countries during the forum.

"We are identifying which programs should be prioritized and how we want to carry them out. So if there are no obstacles along the way, some of the programs will materialize in three or four months time," he told The Jakarta Post.

India has demonstrated its support for green projects by allocating $5 million toward them, and another $1 million for research studies, he said.

The agricultural research studies will be conducted in three different countries in the region, with Indonesia coordinating the programs, which include research attempts to improve the quality of agricultural products to counter climate change.

India's joint secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, Malay Mishra, said the proposed projects would be given to the ASEAN Secretariat to conduct preliminary studies before they were finally implemented.

He said India was also interested in establishing an English learning center in Indonesia to assist people to improve their English language skills.

Director for Dialogue Partners and Inter-Regional Affairs Chilman Arisman said India planned to send out its best teachers for the center, while the Indonesian government would be responsible for building it.

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