Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to visit Malaysia for the ASEAN summit starting on October 26 due to scheduling issues, PTI reported citing sources. Instead, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar should represent India at the event.
While it has not been officially announced how India is participating in the summit talks, its sources said India has informed Malaysia that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend the ASEAN talks on its behalf. However, there is also a possibility that PM Modi may join the ASEAN-India summit virtually.
The government is currently focused on the upcoming state assembly elections in Bihar and PM Modi is expected to attend the Chhath Puja celebrations next week, according to Hindustan Times sources.
They mentioned that discussions between India and the United States on a bilateral trade agreement are continuing, marked by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal’s two-day visit to the US last week and a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Modi and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. But there is little sign of immediate progress, they said.
They added that the absence of a concrete outcome ahead of a possible meeting between the two leaders was among the factors affecting PM Modi’s travel plans.
About the ASEAN Summit
The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur from October 26 to 28.
In recent years, the Prime Minister has led Indian delegations to both the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit.
Malaysia invited Trump and leaders from several ASEAN dialogue partner countries. Trump is scheduled to visit Kuala Lumpur on October 26 for a two-day trip.
India’s dialogue relations with ASEAN began in 1992 as a sectoral partnership, which was upgraded to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and further elevated to a summit level in 2002. The relationship was transformed into a strategic partnership in 2012.
The ten member countries of ASEAN consist of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
(This is a developing story. More to come)
