ASEAN: Modi to address Indian community, unveil Vivekananda statue

Modi, who arrived in the Malaysian capital early on Saturday to attend two weekend summits and hold several bilateral meetings on the margins of the ASEAN Summit, has pitched India as an ideal investment destination and called for boosting regional connectivity.

Updated on: Nov 22, 2015, 08:52:24 IST

Hindustan Times | By Rezaul H Laskar, Kuala Lumpur

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the East Asia Summit and reach out to Malaysia’s two million-strong Indian diaspora during a community event on the second day of his visit to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 13th ASEAN-India Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (PTI)

Modi, who arrived in the Malaysian capital early on Saturday to attend two weekend summits and hold several bilateral meetings on the margins of the ASEAN Summit, has pitched India as an ideal investment destination and called for boosting regional connectivity.

The Prime Minister began the day by witnessing the signing of 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Establishment of ASEAN Community and the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together.

This will be followed by the East Asia Summit to be chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. India has been active in the annual forum of 16 East and Southeast Asian countries since it was created a decade ago.

The summit is expected to discuss matters such as global terrorism, irregular migration, the maritime dispute in the South China Sea and the situation in the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East situation.

It is also expected to adopt seven statements and declarations, including the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the 10th Anniversary of the East Asia Summit, Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates, Statement on Countering Violent Extremism, Statement on Issues Related to Security of and in Use of Information and Communications Technologies, Statement on Enhancing Regional Health Security Relating to Communicable Diseases and a Joint Statement on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Negotiations.

After the summit, Modi will attend a lunch hosted by his Malaysian counterpart before going to the Ramakrishna Mission at Petaling Jaya in the afternoon to unveil a statue of Swami Vivekananda.

The Ramakrishna Mission in Malaysia was set up in 2001 and its activities include organising spiritual retreats on Sundays, counselling sessions and yoga classes.

On returning to Kuala Lumpur in the evening, Modi will meet S Subramaniam, president of the Malaysian Indian Congress and the health minister, and MPs and legislators of Indian origin before the community event at the MINES International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

After the event, Modi will meet Samy Vellu, Malaysia’s special envoy on infrastructure for India and South Asia.

He will also meet winners of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award and attend a reception hosted by the Indian high commissioner in the evening.

Read | ASEAN Summit: PM Modi calls for enhancing counter-terror cooperation

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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