East Asia Summit: PM Modi Supports ASEAN’s Central Role in Indo-Pacific Region
The foreign policy of the Act East Association is focused on accelerated economic and social development of East Asia
On Friday, October 11, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended in Vientiane, Laos, the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS), the centerpiece of the annual ASEAN forum, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations comprising Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, which is headed by Laos in 2024. The agenda of the summit centered on regional and international issues related to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
In his address, the Indian Prime Minister “emphasized the central role of the ASEAN Association in the regional architecture of the Indo-Pacific and in the cooperation of the Quad” (the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, of which India is a member along with the USA, Japan, and Australia).
The Indian leader also emphasized the importance New Delhi attaches to the initiatives of the East Asia Summit, especially in the context of its Act East foreign policy focused on accelerated economic and social development of East Asia.
In this context, Modi invited the EAC and ASEAN countries to participate in the conclave of education ministers to be held at Nalanda University in the Indian state of Bihar. Besides the 10 ASEAN countries, the East Asia Summit also includes Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, India, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States.