New Delhi: India and Laos have signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in various fields, including defense cooperation, customs, audio-visual initiatives, and heritage preservation.
This agreement also includes India’s commitment to provide $1 million in financial assistance for a project aimed at improving nutrition security in Laos through food fortification, supported by the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. The agreements were formalized in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lao PDR’s Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone during a meeting in Vientiane.
On the second day of his visit, Prime Minister Modi met with Lao PDR President Thongloun Sisoulith, congratulating him on successfully hosting the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit. The two leaders discussed enhancing bilateral ties and expressed their commitment to strengthening their partnership. President Sisoulith thanked India for its humanitarian assistance following the floods caused by Typhoon Yagi.
Prime Minister Modi also held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Siphandone, focusing on areas such as development partnership, capacity building, disaster management, renewable energy, and defense collaboration. Siphandone expressed gratitude for India’s flood relief efforts in Laos.
Additionally, Modi met Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, marking their first meeting. They discussed cooperation across various sectors and ways to enhance collaboration within sub-regional and regional frameworks. India’s relationship with Thailand is a key aspect of the Act East policy, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.
Following his successful two-day visit, Prime Minister Modi returned to New Delhi, having participated in the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit.
During the East Asia Summit, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the importance of a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific for regional peace and progress. He highlighted that the ongoing conflicts worldwide are detrimental to the Global South and asserted that development should take precedence over expansionism. He called for a commitment to peace and stability, underscoring the need for respect for sovereignty and international laws.
Addressing the issue of terrorism, Modi stressed the necessity for global cooperation to combat this serious challenge and emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration in cyber, maritime, and space domains.
Prime Minister Modi was the first leader invited to address the East Asia Summit, a forum aimed at building strategic trust in the region. The summit includes the ten ASEAN countries and eight partner nations: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States, with Timor-Leste participating as an observer.
Joydeep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, briefed the media, noting that this year’s summits were particularly significant as they marked the tenth anniversary of the Act East Policy. He reiterated the need for engagement with Myanmar to restore democracy and avoid isolation.
