India yet to make decision on Modi’s participation at Asean

India is yet to take a call on the level of its participation in meetings related to the Asean Summit in Malaysia later this month, though preparations are underway for a possible visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The Asean Summit, set to be held in Kuala Lumpur during October 26-28, will be accompanied by other key meetings such as the Asean-India Summit and the East Asia Summit that have usually been attended by the Prime Minister in recent years. However, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity that a final decision on the level of Indian participation will be made closer to the dates.

The external affairs ministry, however, is engaged in preparations for a possible visit by Modi, including an advance recce, the people said. They noted that there had been precedents of the Indian PM skipping Asean Summit-related meetings and a senior leader being deputed to represent the country.