PM reaches Laos to attend ASEAN-India and East Asia Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Vientiane, the capital of Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic, a short while ago, on a two-day visit. During his stay, Mr Modi will attend the 14th ASEAN-India Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit. Both the summit​s​ will be held tomorrow. Today, Mr Modi will have bilateral meetings with leaders of Japan, South Korea, Lao PDR and Myanmar. In his pre-departure message, the Prime Minister had said, ASEAN is a key partner for India’s Act East Policy. He said, strategic partnership with ASEAN is important for India's security interests and countering traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the region. On East Asia Summit, Mr Modi said, India wants to enhance physical and digital connectivity in the region and people to people links. He said, India also wants to strengthen institutional linkages and leverage the modern interconnected world for the mutual benefit of the people in the region. AIR correspondent reports that this is for the third time Prime Minister Modi is attending these summits. The summits will be attended by Heads of State of the 10 ASEAN and 18 East Asia summit participating countries respectively. Today, Prime Minister will also hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister of Japan and Lao PDR. Maritime Security, terrorism, economic and socio-cultural cooperation will be on the agenda of Prime Minister at these summits. It is expected that the discussions in the summits will strengthen areas towards Act East Policy as well as strategic partnership with ASEAN countries to promote security interests and also to counter security challenges. At the East Asia Summit, leaders will discuss issues pertaining to regional and international interests including maritime security, terrorism, non-proliferation and migration. 2017 will mark 25 years of India's dialogue partnership with ASEAN, and several commemorative initiatives are likely to be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate the occasion. Meanwhile, at the ongoing ASEAN summit in Vientiane, leaders adopted the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 last evening. The plan focuses on five strategic areas : sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence and people mobility.