NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) on October 10 and 11 during which he will attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.
Lao PDR, also called Laos, is the present chair of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Modi will visit Vientiane on the invitation of Lao PDR Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.
“India is marking a decade of the Act East Policy this year. Relations with ASEAN are a central pillar of the Act East Policy and our Indo-Pacific vision. The ASEAN-India Summit will review progress of India-ASEAN relations through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and chart the future direction of cooperation,’’ said the MEA.
“The East Asia Summit, a premier leaders-led forum that contributes to building an environment of strategic trust in the region, provides an opportunity for leaders of EAS Participating Countries, including India, to exchange views on issues of regional importance,” the ministry said, adding PM Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the margins of the two summits.
“India has civilisational and cultural linkages with East Asian nations which have grown into acquiring all the elements of a contemporary relationship. These countries are significant in India’s Act East Policy and our vision of the Indo-Pacific,” the MEA said.
The ASEAN leaders are meeting at a time when Myanmar’s civil war and mounting tensions in the South China Sea test the grouping’s central role in the region.
During the decade of India’s Act East Policy, the engagements have grown from stronger people-to-people connect to the robust cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, connectivity including fin-tech, heritage conservation and capacity building.
2024 marks important anniversaries of establishment of India’s diplomatic ties with several countries in the region — 75th with Indonesia and the Philippines, 60th with Singapore and 40th with Brunei.
10 states of SE Asia
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political and economic union of 10 states in Southeast Asia. Together, its member states represent a population of more than 600 million people. These countries are: Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia.