This volume is part of research programme on ‘India’s Foreign Policy at the Turn of the Millennium: Forging New Partnerships in South-East Asia’. As the strategic and security issues have been addressed in the earlier volume, the present volume deals exclusively with economic issues. It comprises eight contributions, and is the result of a second workshop organized in New Delhi in April 2001. In this connection the authors examine the potential for increased economic relations between Indian and ASEAN, as well as the manner in which the structural problems of the Indian economy could undermine these relations. The various essays also seek to draw some lessons for India from the Asian financial crisis. With a market around 500 million people and a combined gross domestic product of US $800 billion, ASEAN, one of the most dynamic groups of nations in the world economy, was also perceived as a zone of economic opportunity for India. Starting from a very low level, trade and investments between the two partners developed rapidly. However, they remain even today far below their full potential. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 is only a partial explanation for the unrealized and untapped potential. Although improving at a remarkable pace, India’s attractiveness remains limited while its economy is still not export driven. These are some of the pivotal issues addressed in this present volume.
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