NEW DELHI, Sept 6 - Ahead of his visit to Laos to attend the 14th India-Asean Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that Southeast Asia is the key to the development of India�s northeastern region.
�Asean is a key partner for our Act East Policy, which is vital for the economic development of our northeastern region,� Modi said in a pre-departure statement posted on his Facebook page.
Modi will be attending the annual India-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) annual summit on September 7 and the East Asia summit on September 8.
The India-Asean summit will be attended by the leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations � Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.
The East Asia summit will be attended by the leaders of the 10 Asean nations and those of India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.
�Our strategic partnership with Asean is also important for safeguarding and promoting our security interests and countering traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the region,� Modi said in his Facebook post.
�East Asia Summit is the premier forum for discussions on the challenges and opportunities before the Asia Pacific region,� he said.
The Prime Minister�s statement assumes significance in the wake of his visit to Vietnam, India�s country coordinator for the Asean, on Friday and Saturday. � IANS
