New Delhi, Oct 23 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi may skip the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, which starts on Sunday, because of a tight schedule, insiders say. The Indian Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, will attend on Modi’s behalf, sources added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting runs from Oct. 26‑28 in Kuala Lumpur. India’s participation is not yet confirmed in detail, but it has told the Malaysian government that Jaishankar will represent the country.
Some experts think Modi could still join the ASEAN‑India talks virtually. Since 2014, Modi has only missed one East Asia Summit (EAS) – the 17th edition in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2022. The next EAS in Kuala Lumpur is only a few days away, and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not yet committed to Modi’s attendance.
Malaysian officials and media, however, insist that the Indian prime minister will be one of the global leaders at the EAS, alongside US President Donald Trump, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and other heads of state.
Modi has routinely led India’s delegations at both the ASEAN‑India summits and the East Asia Summits over the past years. The 10 ASEAN members – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia – have been key partners for India in trade, investment, security and defense.
A planned visit by Modi to Cambodia and Malaysia was put on hold because he will not be traveling to Malaysia for the summit. The Malaysian government has also invited President Trump for a two‑day trip to Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 26.
India and ASEAN first established a sectoral partnership in 1992, upgraded to a full dialogue partnership in 1995, and reached summit‑level partnership status in 2002. The relationship was raised to a strategic partnership in 2012.
Modi’s attendance record at the EAS is extensive: the 9th summit in Myanmar (2014), 10th in Malaysia (2015), 11th in Laos (2016), 12th in the Philippines (2017), 13th in Singapore (2018), 14th in Thailand (2019), and virtual participation in the 16th and 17th editions (Vietnam 2020, Brunei 2021). He also attended the 18th (Indonesia, 2023) and 19th (Laos, 2024) meetings, and is expected at the 20th in Kuala Lumpur.
Source: ianslive
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