Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, fourth from left, with the heads of government and states of nine of the 10 ASEAN countries at the 3rd India-ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Nov. 30. The King of Brunei was not present at the photo-op. (Photo: Press Information Bureau)

VIENTIANE, Laos: On the streets of the Lao capital, strangers frequently accost Indians with the gambit: “You, from the Land of Buddha?” Others say they would like to come to India to learn “IT (information technology) and English.”

In a way this sums up the sentiments of not just Laotians, who just hosted their largest event –– the 10th Summit of the 10-nation Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as the 3rd India-ASEAN Summit –– but the others from a region that is increasingly seeing India (and China) as hinges to their future growth, prosperity and security.

This was precisely the line articulated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and capitalized upon during his 51-hour stay here for the summit, packed with a host of bilateral and multilateral engagements.

He was able to drive home the point that India is no longer a nation of just wants, but also has a lot to offer, not just in agriculture, but also in areas such as IT, biotech, space technology, remote sensing and pharmaceuticals.

“Never have I seen such encouraging endorsement of India,” Singh told the accompanying media delegation at the conclusion of the visit. “For me, it was a truly emotional experience,” the soft-spoken prime minister added.

Yet, China was clearly the big story at Vientiane and made headlines with a landmark free trade agreement with the regional grouping with a combined population of 500 million and a gross domestic product of $737 billion.

But the unease at the growing influence of this Communist country among some delegates was evident. “Whether we like it or not, we’ve got to trade with China,” said Winichai Chaemchaeng, the deputy director of Thailand’s Trade Negotiations Department.

This was among the reasons why some countries even pressured India to move fast on the framework agreement on a comprehensive economic cooperation, one of the components of which is a free trade pact.

“India is now being seen as a country that can both benefit and help because of its growing relations with the Southeast Asian neighbors and partners,” said Sunil Kant Munjal, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“This is evident from our own interactions with business leaders of ASEAN and its partners like China, Japan and Korea,” Munjal told IANS after a parallel business summit here between India and ASEAN.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, too, had his reasons when he proposed a joint working group to examine how the two countries can join hands in a host of areas. Koizumi, in a meeting with Singh, drew inspiration from the Indian counterpart’s phrase –– “arc of advantage” –– to describe Asia, and said while the West saw the region as an “arc of instability” it could actually emerge as an “arc of prosperity.”

But more meaningful was the Japanese premier’s gesture several times over with his right hand that expressed more than want words could say –– it was used to show India and Japan on the world map in an arc-like movement that passed through East Asian countries and excluded China.

Yet, that did not stop Singh and Wen from striking a chord when they met for the first time since the formation of the Congress Party-led government. Wen told Singh his upcoming visit to India will be his “most important” engagement in 2005 and added: “When we shake hands, the whole world will watch.”

Key aides said that the atmosphere during the Singh-Wen meeting was extremely warm and cordial. “When Wen shook hands with me, he was informed that the foreign ministers of both India and China (Li Zhaoxing) came from Peking University,” External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh said. “Wen acknowledged it as well.”

Another diplomatic victory for India was that neither Pakistan nor the issue of Jammu and Kashmir figured in any of the bilateral deliberations. “There was no mutual paranoia on Pakistan,” National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit said.

India’s growing image as an economic power of the future was reflected even during Manmohan Singh’s meetings with his counterparts Bounhang Vorachit of Laos and Phan Van Khai of Vietnam. The Indian side found it significant that two Southeast Asian nations supported New Delhi’s claim for a permanent membership to the United Nations Security Council.

Similar recognition came for India’s strengths in defense from Indonesian President Sushilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who sought New Delhi’s help in an operational mechanism for the joint patrolling of the Malacca Straits and adjoining seas. This time, foreign relations experts read the move as a counter to America’s strong influence in the region.