PM Narendra Modi reaches Singapore to attend East Asia Summit

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Singapore to attend the 13th East Asia Summit (EAS) on Wednesday morning. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, “Good morning Singapore! PM @narendramodi arrives in Singapore, his second visit to the Lion City this year, to attend 13th #EastAsiaSummit & associated meetings. This is PM’s fifth engagement at #EastAsiaSummit.” The Prime Minister was welcomed with a thunderous applause outside his hotel amid loud cheers of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.

During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to attend the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Breakfast Summit, and the 2nd Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit. He is also a keynote speaker at the Singapore FinTech Festival. Apart from these engagements, several bilateral meetings are on the Prime Minister’s agenda, including a meeting with the United States Vice President Mike Pence.

Prime Minister Modi shall begin his visit by delivering the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival, where there is an Indian Pavilion, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. He will be the first Head of Government to address the festival as a keynote speaker. Following this, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to attend the second RCEP Summit. Bilateral meetings shall be held afterward, followed by a dinner hosted by current ASEAN Chairman and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong on November 14.

On November 15, Prime Minister Modi will start his day with the ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit, followed by the EAS. The EAS will be held in two segments on November 15, which is the East Asia Lunch Retreat followed by the 13th EAS in a plenary setting, after which Prime Minister Modi shall emplane for India. The EAS is a leaders-led forum in the Indo-Pacific Region comprised of the ten ASEAN member states – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam – and its eight dialogue partners- India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.

The leaders of the member nations are slated to discuss international development issues like ICT, Smart Cities, Maritime Cooperation, Education, Finance, Food Security, Environment and Energy at the EAS. India and ASEAN celebrated 25 years of their engagement in 2017, which culminated in the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on January 25 this year. The Summit was followed by the participation of all ASEAN leaders in India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guests.