PM Modi participates in ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit in Singapore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today participated in the ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit in Singapore and underlined the need for maritime cooperation and centrality of trade for the prosperity of the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore yesterday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival. Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted about the breakfast summit today.
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Modi also met premiers of Singapore, Australia, and Thailand
Modi also held separate bilateral meetings with the premiers of Singapore, Australia, and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties in trade, defense, and security. The Indo-Pacific region also came up during yesterday's discussion between Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence. Modi referred to his June speech in Singapore at IISS Shangrila Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision on Indo-Pacific.
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Yesterday, Modi conveyed to Pence that his vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that "we should utilize the East Asia summit to further build on that". Meanwhile, Pence spoke of free and open Indo-Pacific and felt India's contribution in ensuring this would be important.
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Mike Pence said the recent naval exercises held by the US, India, and Japan, were an "evidence of our commitment to ensuring free and open access to the seas all across this region". Before leaving for Singapore, Modi had said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolized India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members.
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Singapore summit will strengthen ASEAN-Delhi partnership, said Modi. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration among its members and also other Asian states. The members of ASEAN are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, and Laos.