India’s big Act East show begins today
NEW DELHI: Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will arrive at 11.30am on Wednesday, the first Southeast Asian leader to pull in for the threeday diplomatic jamboree comprising the India-Asean summit, nine bilateral meetings, and Republic Day parade on January 26.
Heads of nine Asean countries will arrive on Wednesday, while Indonesia President Joko Widodo will land on Thursday just in time for the summit where India will be ready to show off its big Act East policy, in a bid to bolster business and strategic ties with the ten Southeast Asian countries to mark 25 years of its cooperation with the bloc.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold three bilateral meetings Wednesday: with his Vietnamese counterpart; with Philippines President Rod- rigo Duterte; and with state counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi at Hyderabad House.
On Thursday, the day of India-Asean summit, Modi will host Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Singapore Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong, and Sultan of Brueni Hassanal Bolkiah. Later, the leaders and their spouses will be received at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Ram Nath Kovind will host a luncheon before they head for the retreat session themed on maritime cooperation and security in Modi’s presence.
This will be followed by a walk around the Mughal gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and a group photo session of the leaders.
Thereafter, the plenary session of the summit, where every leader will deliver a speech, will take place at Taj hotel in Chanakyapuri from 5pm.
The leaders will release commemorative stamps and attend a photo exhibition.
The leaders will then attend a cultural show and the dinner hosted by Modi.
In the evening, Modi will attend a bilateral meeting with President Joko Widodo.
Friday will begin with the leaders attending the Republic Day parade. The same day, Modi will conduct bilateral meetings with Prime Minister of Lao PDR, Thongloun Sisoulith, and Malaysia’s Najib Razak.
There will not be a bilateral meeting with Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen since a separate meeting is lined up with the Cambodian dignitaries on Saturday.
The preparations for the summit began a year ago with New Delhi having organised 36 events in India and Asean countries. “In the run-up to the summit, there were 6 events,” an official said.
“The Southeast Asian region is economically vibrant. We see a lot of potential... this is a vibrant economic commercial space for us. Already, the Asean is our fourth largest trading partner and we are their seventh largest trading partner. Our investments in the last two decades has been $70 billion. And we see a lot of potential in engaging them further,” secretary (east), Union ministry of external affairs, Preeti Saran said.