Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday confirmed that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi would not be travelling to Kuala Lumpur for the 47th ASEAN Summit, but will attend it virtually.
"We touched on the organization of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this month. He informed me that he will attend virtually due to the ongoing Deepavali celebrations in India at that time," Anwar Ibrahim said on social media.
“I respect his decision and extended my greetings for a happy Deepavali to him and the entire people of India,” he added.
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Detailing his recent conversation with a colleague of Narendra Modi, Ibrahim stressed efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.
"Last night, I received a phone call from a colleague of the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi, to discuss efforts to strengthen Malaysia-India bilateral relations to a more strategic and comprehensive level. India remains an important partner for Malaysia in the fields of trade and investment, in addition to close cooperation in the sectors of technology, education, and regional security," Anwar said.
{{/usCountry}}"Last night, I received a phone call from a colleague of the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi, to discuss efforts to strengthen Malaysia-India bilateral relations to a more strategic and comprehensive level. India remains an important partner for Malaysia in the fields of trade and investment, in addition to close cooperation in the sectors of technology, education, and regional security," Anwar said.
{{/usCountry}}He reaffirmed Malaysia's commitment to bilateral and regional cooperation. "Malaysia will remain committed to strengthening Malaysia-India relations and further enhancing ASEAN-India cooperation towards a more peaceful and prosperous region," he said.
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Later on Thursday, Modi also said he would join the ASEAN-India Summit virtually in Malaysia next week.
“Had a warm conversation with my dear friend, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia. Congratulated him on Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and conveyed best wishes for the success of upcoming Summits,” Modi said in a post on X.
“Look forward to joining the ASEAN-India Summit virtually, and to further deepening of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Modi said.
The ASEAN meetings are scheduled from October 26-28.
Malaysia has invited US President Donald Trump as well as leaders of several countries which are the dialogue partners of the ASEAN grouping.
Trump is set to travel to Kuala Lumpur on October 26 on a two-day trip.
Congress takes a dig at PM Modi
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a X post, suggested that the decision comes down to one reason: avoiding direct engagement with US President Donald Trump, who will also be present at the summit.
“Posting messages in praise of President Trump on social media is one thing. But to be seen hobnobbing physically with the man who has claimed 53 times that he stopped Op Sindoor and 5 times that India has promised to stop buying oil from Russia is another matter. It’s far too risky for him,” Ramesh posted.
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According to Ramesh, Modi had similarly refused an invitation to the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt a few weeks back, citing concerns over the optics of meeting Trump in person.
The Congress leader added that skipping the Kuala Lumpur event could mean a missed opportunity for Modi to engage with world leaders, take part in photo-ops, and bolster his image as a “self-styled Vishwaguru".
“For days the speculation has been — will He or won’t He? Will Mr. Modi go to Kuala Lumpur for the Summit or not? Now it appears certain that the PM will not go,” Ramesh said.
In a tongue-in-cheek Bollywood reference, Ramesh said, “Bachke re rehna re baba, bachke rehna re.”
ASEAN-India dialogue ties
The ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992. This graduated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and a summit-level partnership in 2002.
The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012.
The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Relations between India and ASEAN have been on a significant upswing in the last few years, with a focus on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, as well as security and defence.