PM Narendra Modi Arrives in Bangkok To Participate In 35th ASEAN Summit

PRIME Minister  Narendra  Modi  arrived in Bangkok  to participate in the summit of the Jakarta headquartered  Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia for promoting  intergovernmental cooperation and facilitate  economic cooperation. The ten member countries of ASEAN are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam..The organization focuses on boosting economic and trade growth, with all member states having a free trade agreement. India became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992. Mutual interest led ASEAN to invite India to become its full dialogue partner during the fifth ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in 1995. India also became a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1996.Tweeting Pm Modi said I would be in Bangkok, Thailand, to participate in various meets related Summits including the ASEAN-India Summit, East Asia Summit and a meeting on RCEP negotiations. ASEAN related Summits are key elements of India’s foreign policy, most notably our Act East Policy. There will be a meeting on RCEP negotiations. ASEAN related Summits are key elements of India’s foreign policy, most notably our Act East Policy. ·In Bangkok, there will be meetings with various world leaders to discuss important bilateral and global issues. India is eager to improve connectivity with nations. The East Asia Summit gives an opportunity to present our vision for the Indo-Pacific region. Connecting with the Indian Diaspora is something I always look forward to. At 6 PM IST this evening in Bangkok, I would interact with the Indian community based in Thailand. Their contributions to Thailand in various spheres are valuable, said PM Modi before his departure for Bangkok. India has historical and cultural relations with the over centuries.PM Modi is dedicated to strengthening mutual and multilateral tie-ups with these nations. In an interview to the Washington Post he says: It is well-known that India’s is an ancient civilization with enormous richness and diversity. Till a few hundred years ago, India contributed a major chunk of global growth. It has contributed to the development of science, literature, philosophy, art and architecture. In doing all this, it did not seek to dominate others but built lasting ties across seas and oceans.In the last few years, we have been actively increasing our contribution in the world, be it in the economic sphere or in the fight against climate change, in the field of space or the fight against terror.Today, India is one of the largest contributors to global economic growth and development. The people of India have amply demonstrated that they are second to none, if they get the right environment policies that enable them to realize their true potential.We are running the world’s largest campaign to improve the “Ease of Living” for the people of India and to improve their productive potential via better infrastructure, better services and better technology. This has been made possible because we have electrified every village; brought over 350 million of our citizens into the banking system; reduced leakage of money in social schemes; built 150 million toilets in rural and urban areas; improved governance by digitizing services, made rapid strides to become one of the fastest growing markets for fintech products; and have put the Indian economy in a fast-growth trajectory. We have moved up about 80 places in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. And we have done this within a democratic framework and while preserving the best of our heritage, PM  Modi  added.The themes of the  Bangkok  Asean Summit :  ASEAN will look towards the future and move forward together dynamically, making use of technological advances from the 4th Industrial Revolution, and enhancing our competitiveness. ASEAN will also build immunities from disruptive technologies and future challenges, especially for MSMEs, so as to advance towards a “Digital ASEAN”.Partnership” both within ASEAN and with Dialogue Partners and the international community, by strengthening the concept of “ASEAN Plus One” and reinforcing the ASEAN-centered regional architecture, increasing economic cooperation with all countries with due consideration to balance and benefits for the people, and enhancing the role of ASEAN at the international stage in addressing important global issues such as climate change. ASEAN intends to build sustainability in all dimension, be it sustainable security, sustainable economic growth, which includes the green economy and sustainable development. The establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue and the ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation will play an important role in achieving this goal, it said in a statement. On 15 November 2018,  Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore, ASEAN Chairman of 2018, handed officially the ASEAN Chairmanship of 2019 to  General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of  Thailand  at the end of the Closing Ceremony of the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings in Singapore. The Prime Minister of Thailand announced the theme of Thailand’s Chairmanship in 2019 as “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability.”(Edited by PK Chakravarty)