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The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was on two days (10th & 11th October) visit of Vientiane in Lao PDR for the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Siphandone of Lao PDR. It was Prime Minister’s 10th attendance at the ASEAN-India Summit
The significance of this particular summit was that it was also the 10th anniversary of Prime Minister’s Act East policy. Prime Minister along with other Heads of State and Government of ASEAN countries, reviewed the progress in the relations between India and ASEAN over this time. And they also planned the future direction of our relationship. ASEAN leaders especially very positively appraised India’s cooperation in many areas of diverse collaboration as a result of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and also, they appraised very positively India’s leadership role in digital public infrastructure and the fact that ASEAN countries can benefit significantly from this.
Prime Minister congratulated Lao PDR on a very successful stewardship of ASEAN and related mechanisms throughout the year and he announced a 10-point special plan to strengthen connectivity and resilience with ASEAN. These involve a wide variety of initiatives that India is taking with ASEAN. They include, for example, celebrating next year as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism. The ASEAN leaders all universally welcomed this as a very positive development. It was also announced that India will contribute $5 million towards joint cooperative activities in this area. To mark this decade of ‘Act East’ policy, several people-to-people and people-centric initiatives were announced like Youth Summit, music festival of ASEAN bands with Indian bands, an Artist Camp, a Hackathon, Startup Festival, the Delhi Dialogue. The ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks will also meet next month.
Another important initiative is the ASEAN-India Women Scientists’ Conclave, which it has been decided to institutionalize, and it will be funded by the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund. The number of scholarships from Nalanda University will be nearly doubled for ASEAN students, and we emphasized also that secure, resilient and reliable supply chains are an important aspect of our relations with ASEAN countries, and for that we will also expedite our discussions on the review of the ASEAN-India Free Trade in Goods Agreement by 2025.
India will also contribute $5 million towards disaster resilience, and the National Disaster Management Authority and the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance have a working relationship and an MoU, and they will work together on this. In the field of health, is also planning to institute a new Health Ministers’ Track and also a Cooperative Framework for ASEAN countries to tap India’s National Cancer-Grid ‘Vishwam’. In digital and cyber resilience, India propose a regular mechanism for ASEAN-India Cyber Dialogue, and its first meeting is scheduled next week in Singapore, and the ASEAN-India Fund for the Digital Future has also been institutionalized and operationalized. We will also have a workshop on Green Hydrogen with ASEAN towards climate resilience. The Prime Minister invited ASEAN leaders to join the campaign to plant a tree for mother, ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’.
The 21st ASEAN-India Summit adopted two declarations, two statements at the leader level. One was a Statement on the ‘Act East’ policy and its contribution to ASEAN-India relations, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that we have, and another on Advancing Digital Transformation in the region. As you know, Singapore has been our coordinator in ASEAN for the past three years and the Prime Minister appreciated Singapore’s role in this and also welcomed the fact that Philippines will be our coordinator as we go forward for the next three years.
At the East Asia Summit Prime Minister conveyed India’s support for ASEAN unity and centrality and ASEAN’s importance as a central pillar of our own Indo-Pacific vision and of Quad cooperation, and that the East Asia Summit is an important pillar also of India’s ‘Act East’ policy. The Prime Minister recalled the support that was received from the East Asia Summit states for revival of Nalanda University and briefed them that we have now operationalized this and the new campus of Nalanda University was inaugurated in June this year and he also took this opportunity to invite the East Asia Summit states for their Heads of Higher Education to participate in a conclave that will be held in Nalanda University.
Leaders exchanged views on regional and international matters that affect peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, and Prime Minister underlined the severe impact of these conflicts on countries of the Global South; and also highlighted that path of dialogue and diplomacy based on a humanitarian approach is the only way forward, and that he reiterated that there was no solution that can be found on the battlefield.
Prime Minister also had several bilateral meetings. Prime Minister had the bilateral meeting with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shigeru Ishiba and he congratulated Prime Minister Ishiba on assuming his new role and wished him success in leading Japan to greater heights. Both leaders emphasized the importance of the bilateral relationship.
Prime Minister also had a meeting with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on the sidelines and this was the first meeting between the two leaders, so Prime Minister used this opportunity to congratulate him and the two Prime Ministers discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in a number of areas including agri-tech, dairy-tech, in defence and security, in education, climate change, sports cooperation, tourism, space and people-to-people ties.
With the Prime Minister of Lao PDR, Prime Minister Modi had a meeting. These talks covered the entire gamut of our bilateral relations. They held productive discussions on how to strengthen our civilizational and contemporary ties. Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone on the very successful conduct of the ASEAN and related summits.
Six MOUs were signed, one on defence cooperation, another on customs facilitation, one on audio-visual cooperation and three Memoranda of Understanding on quick impact projects which were especially significant because they contribute towards the conservation of our common heritage. One is on the puppet theatre in Lao PDR that is based on the Ramayana, then one of them is on the restoration work in one of the monasteries and temples here in Lao PDR which has murals from the Ramayana, and a third on Lao Ramayana theater; and these initiatives were greatly appreciated by the Lao leadership.
Prime Minister also called on President Sisoulith and the President has been to India in the previous role as Prime Minister during the 2018 ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, so he recounted his very positive impressions at that time and having met Prime Minister Modi at that time and Prime Minister invited him to visit India again as well.
Prime Minister also had a bilateral meeting with the new Prime Minister of Thailand, Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Prime Minister congratulated her on assuming this role and this was their first meeting and she extended her greetings to Prime Minister on his historic third term in office. They discussed bilateral relations as well as the very positive cooperation that we have under the BIMSTEC arrangement.
Prime Minister also had brief interactions with other world leaders such as President Marcos of the Philippines, the President of the European Council, Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Prime Minister of Australia.