PM Modi to embark on two-day visit to Laos tomorrow to attend ASEAN-India Summit | What's on agenda?

Laos is the current chair of ASEAN and will be hosting the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit. PM Modi is expected to review the progress of India-ASEAN relations and chart the future direction of cooperation.

ASEAN-India Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit on Thursday (October 10) to Laos at the invitation of his counterpart Sonexay Siphandone during which he will attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit. This would mark PM Modi's 10th attendance at the ASEAN-India Summit, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday.

As the current chair of ASEAN, Lao People’s Democratic Republic is hosting the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit. Last year, the ASEAN-India Summit was held in Jakarta, Indonesia under the leadership of then president Joko Widodo. The ASEAN-India Summit will review the progress of India-ASEAN relations through Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and chart the future direction of cooperation.

Furthermore, the significance of this summit is palpable as it is taking place on the 10th anniversary of India's Act East Policy. PM Modi is expected to review the progress made between India and other ASEAN countries and chart the future direction of our relationship, according to the MEA. India has also lent support to the chair's theme for this year's summit: 'Connectivity and Resilience".

Why is PM Modi's visit significant?

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 India's diplomatic relations with several countries in the region like Brunei, Philippines and Singapore.

"Connectivity is a very important pillar of our engagement with ASEAN. As much as 20 per cent of the Indian diaspora worldwide live in ASEAN countries. We have direct flights with seven ASEAN countries and we expect that perhaps by the end of the year, we will have flight connectivity with two more ASEAN countries. ASEAN is also among our top trade and investment partners of India,” says Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary East, MEA, on Wednesday.

India has also been one of the first responders to disaster occurrences in the region from the Indian Ocean Tsunami to Typhoon Yagi, during which it provided crucial assistance to countries like Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos. India has also lined up cooperative activities with its ASEAN partners in the fields of capacity building, scholarships, building collaborative R&D and more.

Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States will take part in the East Asia Summit, while Timor-Leste has been appointed as an observer. At the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta last year, Prime Minister Modi had announced India's decision to open a Resident Mission in Dili, Timor Leste, which was recently operationalised.

What would PM Modi do in Laos?

PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with his Laos counterpart Siphandone. He is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders who will attend the East Asia Summit. The 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

"We have close historical and civilisational relations with LAO PDR that includes a whole host of different areas of cooperation including restoration of archaeological sites, capacity building, IT, and quick impact projects," said the Ministry of External Affairs.

At the last ASEAN-India Summit, Prime Minister Modi held extensive discussions with ASEAN partners on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course. Prime Minister reaffirmed ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the synergies between India's Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

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