External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Vientiane, Laos, to participate in the crucial ASEAN-mechanism meetings aimed at strengthening India’s relations with Southeast Asian nations.
Jaishankar expressed optimism about advancing India’s engagement with ASEAN countries, marking a significant milestone in the Act East Policy’s decade-long journey.
“Arrived in Vientiane, Laos to take part in the ASEAN-mechanism meetings. Look forward to further deepening India’s ties with ASEAN as we mark a decade of Act East Policy,” said EAM Jaishankar in a post on X.
Jaishankar will be in Vientiane, Lao PDR, from July 25 to 27 to take part in the Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format of the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed in a press release earlier.
EAM Jaishankar is visiting Lao PDR at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Lao PDR, Saleumxay Kommasith.
The visit underlines India’s deep engagement with and the importance India attaches to the ASEAN-centred regional architecture, our strong commitment to ASEAN unity, ASEAN centrality, the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and taking forward the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It is of particular significance that this year marks a decade of India’s Act East Policy, which was announced by the Prime Minister at the 9th East Asia Summit in 2014, the Ministry of External Affairs also said.
The External Affairs Minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other countries in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on the margins of the ASEAN-related meetings.
ASEAN is a political and economic union of 10 countries in Southeast Asia. As the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) continues to grow in strength, India, too remains a valued partner for the economic union.
Speaking to ANI in the Laos capital Vientiane earlier this month, the Director General of the ASEAN department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR), Chatoulong Bouasisavath, said that India is a valued partner of ASEAN.
After the announcement of the real-time payments linkage system between India and Singapore, India announced that it is working with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to operationalize it for more countries in the region.
This year, India celebrates a decade of its ‘Act East’ policy, keeping ASEAN as its central pillar of the policy.
India has reiterated its full support for ASEAN Centrality, ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), and Lao PDR’s ASEAN Chairmanship’s priorities and deliverables under their theme “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience.”
In September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Indonesia to attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS).
It was the first summit since the elevation of ties between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations bloc of countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.
