Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a series of bilateral meetings with the leaders of Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia just an hour after he landed here Sunday.

The prime minister also interacted with some 50 members of the Indian diaspora at a reception hosted in his honour by Indian Ambassador Tsewang Topden.

The focus of the bilateral talks was on issues of mutual interest, but the leaders also discussed matters related to the summit between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tuesday.

Briefing reporters after the meetings, National Security Advisor J.N. Dixit said among the issues discussed were economic cooperation and addressing terrorism - both bilaterally and multilaterally.

External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh too participated in some bilateral engagements.

Manmohan Singh first called on Indonesian President Sushilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who sought India's help in an operational mechanism for the joint patrolling of the Malacca Straits and adjoining seas.

The two sides also felt the need to activate the India-Indonesia Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation that had not met for a year and spoke of the need for cooperation in areas like energy, coal and hydrocarbons.

Yudhoyono hoped India would play an active role in celebrating the anniversary of the Bandung Conference that had eventually led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement.

In the meeting with Lao Prime Minister Bounhang Vorachit, the Indian side found it significant that a Southeast Asian nation supported India's claim for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

This was stated again when Manmohan Singh met his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Khai.

The Indian prime minister told Phan that New Delhi's relations with Vietnam had been significant prior to the Cold War and called for their revitalisation in the new dispensation.

Manmohan Singh saw potential for cooperation with Vietnam in areas like power, hydrocarbons, science and technology, IT, nuclear energy and defence.

At the reception hosted by the Indian envoy, the prime minister asked the Indian diaspora here to become India's envoys of goodwill and its vision to integrate better with Southeast Asian economies.

"In the new vision, we are trying to look east in a special manner," the prime minister said. "We want each one of you to become our ambassadors of goodwill."

He told the guests that India admired the struggle of the people of Laos and that New Delhi would like to share its developmental experiences with them.

"It is a matter of strength that in the process of reconciliation and development, we have been able to play a good role," he said.

--Indo-Asian News Service