India ASEAN Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 14th ASEAN-India Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on 8th September, at the invitation of Thongloun Sisoulith, the Prime Minister of Lao PDR. The Summits will be attended by Heads of State/Government of the 10 ASEAN Association of South-East Asian Nations) and 18 East Asia Summit Participating Countries respectively.

The ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Asean is India's fourth largest trading partner and India is, in turn, Asean's sixth largest trading partner. India's engagement with the ASEAN and wider Asia-Pacific region has acquired further momentum following the enunciation of the ‘Act-East Policy’ by Prime Minister Modi at the 12th ASEAN-India Summit and 9th East Asia Summit in Myanmar in November 2014.

Prime Minister and ASEAN Leaders will review ASEAN-India cooperation and discuss its future direction under each of the three pillars of politico-security, economic and socio-cultural cooperation. They will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and concern. 2017 will mark 25 years of India's dialogue partnership with ASEAN, to celebrate which a number of commemorative activities will also be announced by Prime Minister.

ASEAN is a strategic partner of India since 2012. India and ASEAN have 30 dialogue mechanisms which meet regularly, including a Summit and 7 Ministerial meetings in Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Tourism, Agriculture, Environment, Renewable Energy and Telecommunications. Trade between India and ASEAN stood at $65.04 billion in 2015-16 and comprises 10.12% of India’s total trade with the world.

The ASEAN-India economic integration process has got a fillip with the creation of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area in July 2015, following the entry into force of the ASEAN-India Trade in Services and Investment Agreements. Conclusion of a balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will futher boost our trade and investment ties with the region.

The East Asia Summit is an exclusive club of leaders-led forum in the Asia-Pacific. Since its inception in 2005, it has played a significant role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of East Asia. Apart from the 10 Asean member states, East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia. India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit.