With Focus On ‘Act East’ Policy, PM Modi Meets Top Asian Leaders In Laos

With Focus On ‘Act East’ Policy, PM Modi Meets Top Asian Leaders In Laos

Vientiane, Laos:

Giving impetus to India’s ‘Act East’ coverage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a sequence of conferences in Laos, which is the place the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits are being held.

PM Modi, who’s on a two-day go to to Laos on the invitation prolonged by his counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, was given a ceremonial Guard of Honour upon his arrival. He additionally participated in a blessing ceremony by senior Buddhist monks of Laos.

Hundreds of members from the Indian group in Laos welcomed PM Modi upon his arrival in Vientiane. The prime minister spoke with the diaspora, signed images and witnessed the Bihu dance being carried out to welcome him.

ANCIENT TIES

India and Laos have a shared heritage and tradition and the prime minister as we speak witnessed an episode of Lao Ramayana, which known as Phalak Phalam or Phra Lak Phra Ram in Laos. The efficiency highlighted the wealthy and shared hyperlinks between the 2 nations.

“Vijaya Dashami is just a few days away and as we speak in Lao PDR, I noticed part of the Lao Ramayana, highlighting the victory of Prabhu Shri Ram over Ravan. It is heartening to see the folks right here stay in contact with the Ramayan. May the blessings of Prabhu Shri Ram all the time stay upon us!,” PM Modi wrote on social media platform X.

Ramayan continues to be celebrated in Laos for hundreds of years, reflecting the shared heritage and age-old civilisational connection between the 2 nations. Many different aspects of Indian tradition have been additionally practised within the Southeastern nation for hundreds of years.

Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand are different nations, predominantly led by Theravada Buddhism have many Ramayan traditions with Buddhist reinterpretations and variations.

Notably, Laos was identified to historical Indians because the ‘Suvarnabhumi’ or the ‘Land of Gold’.

As per historic data, when Ashoka waged a conflict in opposition to Kalinga, a number of folks moved to Suvarnabhumi and introduced with them Hindu and Buddhist beliefs from throughout the seas.

Laotian Ramayan is believed to be deeply influenced by the Valmikian narrative and is constructed on the template of Lao’s historical past and methods of lifetime of the folks.

FROM ‘LOOK EAST’ TO ‘ACT EAST’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi as we speak introduced a 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN complete partnership and asserted that ties with the regional grouping have been important to guiding Asia’s future.

PM Modi famous that India-ASEAN commerce had doubled to over USD 130 billion previously decade and introduced a assessment of the commerce in items settlement to harness the larger financial potential of the partnership.

“I imagine that the twenty first century – the Asian century – is the century of India and ASEAN nations,” the Prime Minister stated whereas addressing the leaders of the ASEAN nations that embody Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Singapore.

The Prime Minister stated India was commemorating the tenth anniversary of its Act East Policy, which has given new power, route and momentum to the historic relationship between India and the ASEAN nations.

“The India-ASEAN Summit was a productive one. We mentioned the right way to additional strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and ASEAN. We sit up for deepening commerce ties, cultural linkages and cooperation in know-how, connectivity and different such sectors,” PM Modi stated in a submit on X.

The 10-point plan to additional strengthen the India-ASEAN partnership contains celebrating the 12 months 2025 because the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism, doubling the variety of scholarships at Nalanda University and offering new grants for ASEAN college students at Agricultural Universities in India.

Prime Minister Modi additionally introduced celebrating the last decade of Act East Policy via a number of people-centric actions together with Youth Summit, Start-up Festival, Hackathon, Music Festival, ASEAN-India Network of Think-Tanks and Delhi Dialogue.

REGIONAL TENSIONS

PM Modi as we speak stated the India-ASEAN friendship was essential at a time when components of the world have been dealing with conflicts and tensions.

The India-ASEAN Summit is going down at a time when the area is witnessing tensions between the Philippines and China over maritime points within the South China Sea and the disaster in Myanmar, the place ethnic teams are battling the army regime.

WHAT ELSE IS PLANNED

Besides the twenty first ASEAN-India summit, the prime minister may also attend the nineteenth East Asia Summit. He may also maintain a number of bilateral conferences with heads of states from member international locations.

PM Modi’s go to underscores how the ASEAN member international locations are an important a part of India’s ‘Act East’ coverage. It additionally displays New Delhi’s cooperation with allies and companions with a typical imaginative and prescient of the Indo-Pacific area.

The prime minister has prioritised east and southeast Asia together with his imaginative and prescient for an initiative referred to as SAGAR – Security And Growth for All within the Region.

PM Modi’s go to to Laos marks vital anniversaries of the institution of India’s diplomatic relations with a number of international locations within the area – seventy fifth with Indonesia, seventy fifth with the Philippines, sixtieth with Singapore and fortieth with Brunei.