Modi in Laos to attend summits (Second Lead, Changing dateline)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Wednesday to attend the 14th India-Asean Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit.

"Greetings Vientiane! (Modi) arrives in Laos for a packed two days of diplomacy," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Modi is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday afternoon.

The India-Asean Summit on Thursday will be attended by leaders of 10 southeast Asian nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.

The East Asia Summit the same day will be attended by leaders of the 10 Asean nations and those of India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.

Modi said on Tuesday that Southeast Asia was 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.

--IANS

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