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Vice president Dhankhar to represent India at key summits with Asean states
The prime minister’s participation in this year’s events became doubtful in the wake of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s likely visit to India on November 14
Vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar, accompanied by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, will represent India at several events of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), including the Asean-India Commemorative Summit, in Cambodia from November 11-13, the external affairs ministry said on Monday.
Cambodia is hosting the events as the current chair of Asean.
The prime minister’s participation in this year’s events became doubtful in the wake of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s likely visit to India on November 14, just ahead of the G20 Summit in Indonesia on November 15-16.
The impact of the Ukraine war on global food and energy prices, the situation in Myanmar following last year’s military coup and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific are expected to feature in the meetings in Cambodia, people familiar with the matter said.
Dhankhar will attend the Asean-India Commemorative Summit in Phnom Penh on November 12. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Asean-India relations and is being celebrated as the Asean-India Friendship Year.
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On November 13, Dhankhar will participate in the East Asia Summit, which brings together the 10 Asean member states and its eight dialogue partners – India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia. The members of Asean are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
During his visit, the vice president will also have bilateral engagements with Cambodia’s leadership, and also hold bilateral meetings with leaders from other countries on the margins of the two summits.
On his way back from Phnom Penh, Dhankhar will visit Siem Reap to review the preservation and restoration work being done by India at Cambodian heritage sites.
