PM Modi to visit Philippines for India-ASEAN summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Philippines for the 25th India-ASEAN Summit from November 12.This was announced by the external affairs ministry on Thursday.

Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Philippines after 1981 after Indira Gandhi.

Indira had visited Philippines in 1981 and relations have remained steady since then, without realising full potential.

Major issues relating to security in the Asia Pacific region are likely to be taken up at the conference as most of the ASEAN members are littoral states of the South China Sea.

The year 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the ASEAN. The 31st Summit will take place alongside related meetings and a special celebration of "ASEAN@50".

The ten members of ASEAN are: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

During his three-day tour to Manila, Modi will engage in several bilateral interactions besides India-ASEAN and East Asia summits. Modi and the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte will hold their maiden meeting and partnership in counterterrorism, defence and economy are high on the agenda.

India and Philippines are expected to put in place a counterterrorism mechanism to combat growing challenge from ISIS and other international terror groups.

PM Modi is also expected to have a bilateral meeting with American President Donald Trump in Manila to review the progress in bilateral ties since they met in Washington DC in June this year.

OneIndia News