Before New Delhi G20 Summit, PM Modi to Visit Indonesia for ASEAN-India, East Asia Summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on September 6 and 7 to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits. The Union ministry of external affairs last week said that the Prime Minister will go for a short visit before returning back to India for a G20 Summit in New Delhi.

PM Modi will focus on trade and security ties with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during his visit to Jakarta, where he will meet with the leaders of the bloc.

This is the first ASEAN-India Summit after New Delhi and the ASEAN elevated ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia on September 6 to 7 at the invitation of Joko Widodo, the President of the Republic of Indonesia,” the MEA said in a statement last week. The statement said that PM Modi will attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit.

Indonesia is hosting both summits and is the current chair of ASEAN. “The forthcoming ASEAN-India Summit will be the first Summit since the elevation of India-ASEAN relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. The Summit will review the progress of India-ASEAN relations and chart the future direction of cooperation,” the MEA’s statement said.

The external affairs ministry said the meeting provides an opportunity to the leaders of the bloc and India and other seven dialogue partners, to exchange views on issues of regional and global significance.

ASEAN is composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. India and ASEAN ties have grown significantly in the recent past. India and the bloc are focusing on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence.

In August, finance ministers of the ASEAN nations and India agreed to review the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), signed in 2019. According to a report by The Print, India said the review will make the pact “mutually beneficial” while highlighting that there is a trade deficit between India and the bloc.