PM Modi To Take Off For Indonesia, Attend 20th ASEAN-India Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to Indonesia to take part in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) on Wednesday.

The PM will leave for Indonesia on Wednesday evening and will return back to Delhi late in the evening on the following day, that is, September 7.

PM Modi will be in Jakarta at the invitation of the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. Both the ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit are set to take place on Thursday.

It may be noted that Indonesia, who is the current chair of ASEAN, has made adjustments to the schedule for both the summits so as to facilitate an early return for PM Modi. The Indian PM's Indonesia visit comes just ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in the national capital on September 9 and 10 under the presidency of India this year.

Indonesia is a part of the G20 'troika' as it had the presidency of the grouping last year.

The upcoming ASEAN-India Summit will be the first summit since the elevation of ties between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations bloc of countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.

The foreign ministry said that the the Summit will review the progress of India-ASEAN relations and chart the future direction of cooperation.

This year the ASEAN Summit will be chaired by Indonesia under the theme "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth." This theme indicates that Indonesia expects the ASEAN to be relevant and significant as the centre of economic growth

According to a statement, the East Asia Summit would provide an opportunity for leaders of ASEAN countries and its eight dialogue partners, including India, to exchange views on issues of regional and global significance.

In August, ASEAN-India Economic Ministers met in Indonesia and the main agenda of this year’s meeting was the timely review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) which was signed in 2009.

A joint committee agreed to a regular, quarterly schedule of negotiations, which would conclude the review of the ASEAN-India FTA in 2025.

In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jakarta at the invitation of Indonesian President Widodo. During this visit, both leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in all areas by establishing a New Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to take the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and India into a new era.

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