External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is set to visit Vientiane, Lao PDR, from July 25 to 27 to participate in key Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN framework, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Tuesday.

Jaishankar, invited by Lao PDR’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, will attend meetings in the format of ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The visit underscores India’s deep engagement with ASEAN-centred regional architecture and its commitment to ASEAN unity and centrality. It also aligns with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and aims to advance the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

This year marks a significant milestone as it commemorates a decade of India’s Act East Policy, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the 9th East Asia Summit in 2014.

On the sidelines of the ASEAN-related meetings, Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral discussions with his counterparts from other participating nations.

The importance of ASEAN to India was recently highlighted by Chatoulong Bouasisavath, Director General of the ASEAN department in Lao PDR’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who stated that India remains a valued partner for the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc.

India’s engagement with ASEAN has seen recent progress, including the announcement of a real-time payments linkage system with Singapore. The country is now working to extend this system to Malaysia and other ASEAN nations.

India has reaffirmed its support for ASEAN Centrality, the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and Lao PDR’s ASEAN Chairmanship priorities under the theme “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience.”

This visit follows Prime Minister Modi’s attendance at the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit in Indonesia last September, which marked the first summit since India-ASEAN relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.

(Inputs from ANI)