Vice Prez Dhankhar leaves for Cambodia to attend ASEAN-India summit

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday embarked on a three-day visit to Cambodia, where he will attend the ASEAN-India summit and the East Asia Summit.

Cambodia is hosting these summits in its capacity as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

During his visit, the vice president will hold a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. He will also hold meetings with leaders from several other countries.

This is Dhankhar's first foreign visit since he assumed office in August this year. He is accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The ASEAN-India summit is expected to review the status of the strategic partnership between the two sides and take stock of the cooperation in areas of trade, investment and connectivity.

According to the government, Dhankhar will attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in Phnom Penh on November 12.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.

On November 13, the vice president will participate in the 17th East Asia Summit, which comprises the 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Besides, it includes eight dialogue partners -- India, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.

At the East Asia Summit, leaders will discuss ways to further strengthen the East Asia Summit mechanism as well as matters of regional and international interest and concerns including maritime security, terrorism and non-proliferation, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.