Vidushi Nautiyal, Pune
In an effort to promote cooperation and economic ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Laos from October 10-11 to attend the East Asia Summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)–India Summit.
The external affairs ministry said on Tuesday that Modi is visiting Vientiane at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Laos, Sonexay Siphandone, who is the chair of the 10-member grouping, currently led by Laos. It is anticipated that he will participate in multiple bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summits.
India’s relationship with Asean, whose members include important bilateral partners like Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, is mostly facilitated by these two summits. Asean nations are joined at the East Asia Summit by eight important dialogue partners, including the US, Australia, China, Russia, Japan, and India.
The external affairs ministry stated, “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”.
There is also speculation whether PM Modi will meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang. However, neither party has provided an official statement regarding the likelihood of a meeting. According to the ministry, the Asean-India Summit will assess how the two countries’ relations have developed via their comprehensive strategic partnership and determine the direction of their cooperation going forward.
The East Asia Summit, a “premier leaders-led forum that contributes to building an environment of strategic trust in the region”, will provide an opportunity for member countries to exchange perspectives on topics of regional relevance, it added.
After ten years of the “Act East” policy, India and Asean’s engagements have developed into strong cooperation in trade and investment, defense and security, connectivity including fintech, heritage conservation, and capacity building.
Modi hosted his counterparts from Malaysia and Vietnam in New Delhi in recent months. In September, Modi traveled to Singapore and Brunei as well to advance relations in a variety of fields, such as commerce, finance, digitalization, and space exploration.
The Brunei visit was the first ever bilateral visit to Brunei by an Indian premier. India’s relations with Singapore and Malaysia were strengthened to a comprehensive strategic partnership during these trips, and the relationship with Brunei has been improved to an enhanced partnership.