By IANS,
New Delhi : Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Tuesday called for creation of an India-Asean knowledge platform that will enable “joint design, development and cost-effective production and marketing” of the products and services, putting to best use each nation’s core competencies.
He also noted that this knowledge platform could be a meeting place for science, technology, industry, management and marketing.
“In the 21st century world, we need to evolve platforms for the seamless flow and exchange of knowledge and technology across the world. This would require the creation of an Indo-Asean knowledge platform, which can be done as a venture between India and the 10 Asean nations,” Kalam said, delivering the valedictory address at the India-Asean Delhi Dialogue here.
“The knowledge platform will enable joint design, development, cost-effective production and marketing of the knowledge products and systems and services in various domains based on the core competence of partner nations to the international market.
“Indo-Asean knowledge platform is a meeting place for science, technology, industry, management and marketing,” he said at the event organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs under the ministry of external affairs and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and India (FICCI).
Delhi Dialogue 2012, an instrument for furthering India’s Look East policy, is the fourth in the series of engagements since 2009 and this year’s event commemorates the two decades of India-Asean dialogue and 10th anniversary of their summit-level meetings.
Noting that the convergence of “bio, nano, eco and IT” is expected to touch every area of concern to humanity, Kalam said the India-Asean knowledge platform should take up missions in these sectors that are of utmost urgency to all of us and that will ultimately lead India, Asean and the world a “safe, sustainable, peaceful and prosperous” place to live.
Delhi Dialogue in the last two days had debated issues relating to economy of the region, non-traditional security threats such as natural disasters, the emerging regional security architecture and building of knowledge and science networks.