New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his two-day official visit to Laos in southeast Asia to attend the annual ASEAN-India Summit. He will also attend the East Asia Summit as New Delhi’s Act East policy gains momentum.
PM Modi will arrive in Laos’s capital Vientiane on the invite of his counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, who is the current chair for the Association of South East Asian Nations or ASEAN.
Besides the 21st ASEAN-India summit and the 19th East Asia Summit, the prime minister will also hold several bilateral meetings with heads of states from member countries.
PM Modi’s visit on October 10-11 will highlight how the ASEAN member countries are a crucial part of India’s ‘Act East’ policy. It will also underscore New Delhi’s cooperation with allies and partners with a common vision of the Indo-Pacific region.
The prime minister has prioritised east and southeast Asia with his vision for an initiative called SAGAR – Security And Growth for All in the Region.
Speaking about the prime minister’s visit to Laos, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “The ASEAN-India Summit will review progress of India-ASEAN relations through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and chart the future direction of cooperation. 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.”
2024 marks a decade of India’s Act East Policy and during this decade, the engagements have grown from stronger people-to-people connections to robust cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, and connectivity including fin-tech, heritage conservation and capacity building.
It also marks important anniversaries of the establishment of India’s diplomatic relations with several countries in the region – 75th with Indonesia, 75th with the Philippines, 60th with Singapore and 40th with Brunei.
