S Jaishankar to Visit Lao PDR for ASEAN Meetings
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Vientiane, Lao PDR, from July 25 to 27 to take part in the Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN framework. These meetings include the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Jaishankar’s visit is at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Lao PDR, Saleumxay Kommasith. This visit underscores India’s deep engagement with ASEAN and its commitment to ASEAN unity and the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This year marks a decade of India’s Act East Policy, announced by the Prime Minister at the 9th East Asia Summit in 2014. During his visit, Jaishankar is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other countries.
ASEAN is a political and economic union of 10 countries in Southeast Asia. India remains a valued partner for ASEAN, working to enhance connectivity and resilience in the region. India is also working with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to operationalize a real-time payments linkage system.
In September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit in Indonesia, marking the elevation of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.
Doubts Revealed
S Jaishankar -: S Jaishankar is India’s External Affairs Minister, which means he is responsible for managing India’s relationships with other countries.
Lao PDR -: Lao PDR stands for Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which is a country in Southeast Asia.
ASEAN -: ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a group of countries in Southeast Asia that work together on economic, political, and security issues.
Vientiane -: Vientiane is the capital city of Lao PDR.
Act East Policy -: India’s Act East Policy is a strategy to improve relations and cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership -: A Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is a close and wide-ranging relationship between countries, covering many areas like trade, security, and culture.
bilateral meetings -: Bilateral meetings are discussions between two countries to talk about their relationship and work on common issues.
connectivity and resilience -: Connectivity means improving transportation and communication links, while resilience means being strong and able to recover from problems.
