Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 19th East Asia Summit on the second day of his Laos visit. The East Asia Summit (EAS) is being attended by 10 ASEAN member states and eight partner countries – Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967. Its member countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei Darussalam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Laos on Thursday on a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia Summit. Modi is on a two-day visit to the country at the invitation of Prime Minister of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos (Lao PDR), Sonexa Sifnadon. Laos is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Laos Home Minister Vilayavong Bouddakham welcomed Modi at the airport.
Completed one decade of ACT policy
In a statement issued before leaving for Laos from New Delhi, Modi said India is completing a decade of the ‘Act East’ policy this year. The Prime Minister said, “I look forward to my meetings with the leadership of Lao PDR to further strengthen our bilateral relations.” He said, “This is a special year as we continue to implement our ‘Act East’ policy. We are completing a decade, which has greatly benefited our nation. During this visit, I will have meetings and interactions with various world leaders.” The ‘Act East’ policy aims to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and enhance cooperation among the countries of the Indo-Pacific region through continued engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. To develop strategic relations with India so as to provide better connectivity in the broadest sense including political, economic, cultural and people-to-people ties.
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