PM Modi arrives in Laos to attend ASEAN for East Asia Summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Wednesday in the Laotian capital to attend the ASEAN-India and the East Asia Summits to strengthen India's trade and security ties with the strategic Southeast Asian region.

During his two-day visit, Modi is scheduled to have several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Summits, beginning with an interaction with Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe on Wednesday.

The host nation, Laos will organise a gala dinner this evening for all heads of state. This will be followed by Modi's bilateral talks with Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith.

The talks between the two leaders are likely to focus on terrorism, maritime security, disaster management, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

India has been seeking to join the exclusive 21-member APEC.

This is the third time that Modi is attending these two Summits.

"ASEAN is a key partner for our 'Act East' policy, which is vital for the economic development of our Northeastern region," Modi had said in a statement in New Delhi ahead of the Summits.

East Asia Summit is the premier forum for discussions on the challenges and opportunities before the Asia Pacific region, he had said.

India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit.

Future directions under the three pillars of politico-security, economic and socio-cultural cooperation will be the focus of talks at the 14th ASEAN-India summit .

At the 11th East Asia Summit, leaders will discuss matters of regional and international interest and concerns including maritime security, terrorism, non-proliferation and irregular migration.