PM Modi to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits in Laos

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to undertake a two-day visit to the Laos People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) on October 10 and 11, during which he will participate in the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit, as announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday. Laos, currently serving as the chair of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has extended an invitation to Modi for this visit, which will take place in Vientiane, hosted by Lao PDR Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.This year marks a decade since the initiation of India’s Act East Policy, with relations with ASEAN being a fundamental component of this policy and the broader Indo-Pacific vision. The ASEAN-India Summit aims to assess the progress made in India-ASEAN relations through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and to outline future avenues for collaboration, as stated by the MEA. Furthermore, the East Asia Summit serves as a premier forum for leaders to foster strategic trust within the region, allowing participants, including India, to discuss significant regional issues. The ministry also indicated that Prime Minister Modi is anticipated to engage in bilateral discussions alongside the two summits.

India shares deep civilizational and cultural ties with East Asian nations, which have evolved into a comprehensive contemporary relationship. These nations play a crucial role in India’s Act East Policy and its vision for the Indo-Pacific, as stated by the Ministry of External Affairs. The ASEAN leaders convene at a time when the ongoing civil conflict in Myanmar and escalating tensions in the South China Sea challenge the organization’s central role in the region. Over the past decade of India’s Act East Policy, interactions have expanded from enhanced people-to-people connections to substantial cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, defense and security, connectivity—including financial technology—heritage conservation, and capacity building. The year 2024 is significant as it marks important anniversaries in the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and several countries in the region, including the 75th anniversary with Indonesia and the Philippines, the 60th with Singapore, and the 40th with Brunei. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprising ten member states, serves as a political and economic union in Southeast Asia, representing a collective population of over 600 million people, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia.