PM to attend ASEAN summit virtually

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Kuala Lumpur for annual ASEAN meetings due to scheduling issues and he will join India’s annual summit with the 10-nation grouping virtually.

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Following a phone conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Modi said he was looking forward to joining the ASEAN-India summit virtually, and to further deepening comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent PM Modi at the 20th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur October 27, according to an official statement.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.

Apart from the ASEAN member states, East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.