ASEAN Heads of Missions in a Display of Unity

New Delhi – October 1 2012

ASEAN heads of mission gather at the Thai Residence to welcome the Philippines Ambassador-designate, His Excellency Benito Valeriano on Monday. Newly arrived from Dubai, where he served as the Consul-General of the Philippines, Ambassador Valeriano will soon be joining his colleagues in a year full of ASEAN-India festivities and activities, culminating in the hallmark ASEAN-India Summit in New Delhi to commemorate 20 years of dialogue partnership.

Most recently, ASEAN heads of missions have given their go-ahead to Thailand, the current Chair of the ASEAN New Delhi Committee (ANDC) to submit to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Aviation letters outlining their concerns about the hike in aeronautical charges at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport by 346%, with Mumbai and Chennai to possibly follow suit. In the letter, it was pointed out that the fee increase, effective since April 15 2011, will hurt not only India’s tourism and airlines industries, but would dampen economic cooperation with ASEAN as well as curtail people-to-people contact between ASEAN and India.

Chamsai Menasveta