EAS\, ASEAN meet\, RCEP on Modi\'s Singapore visit agenda

EAS, ASEAN meet, RCEP on Modi's Singapore visit agenda

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi 

The East Summit, an ASEAN-informal meet, the and a bilateral meeting with US will be on Narendra Modi's agenda during his two-day visit to this week.

"This time we are looking to launch the platform APIX. The countries have put together their financial institutions on one platform. The would be launching that link with the Indian financial institutions," she said.

In the evening, he would attend the second summit.

"Leaders of the 16 negotiating countries would be there. At this summit, they would review the progress that has been made in the negotiations of the RCEP which are ongoing in Singapore," Singh said.

The RCEP bloc comprises 10 members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam), and their six FTA partners -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, and

The negotiations among the countries in the bloc have been ongoing since 2012.

has a "constructive position" in the negotiations, Singh said.

The prime minister will also hold a bilateral meeting with Pence on November 14, officials said.

The had said last week that Pence and Modi would discuss the India-US defence cooperation and the bilateral relationship during their meeting in Singapore.

The Modi-Pence meeting comes just days after the US re-imposed sanctions on import of from but temporarily allowed India, China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, and to continue the purchase from the Gulf nation without any penalty.

There would also be a dinner hosted by (ASEAN) Singaporean Prime Minister

On November 15, the prime minister would participate in the ASEAN-breakfast summit.

Prime Minister Modi will also participate at the 13th East Summit that will be held in two segments -- a lunch retreat followed by the plenary session, Singh said.

At the summit, the issues that are on the table are many, including Information and Communications Technology, smart cities, maritime cooperation and cross border terrorism, she said.

He would also meet the participants of India-Singapore hackathon before heading back to India, she said.

The third meeting of Quad countries -- India, the US, and -- at the joint secretary-level will also take place on the sidelines of Modi's visit.

"Agenda normally there is to look at how we look at peace and prosperity issues in the region," Singh said of the quad meeting.

Talking about the informal ASEAN-India breakfast meet, Singh said it was a platform where India engages with the countries as it has a very active Act East policy.

The ASEAN region together with India is one of the most dynamic economic spaces today, Singh said.

She said the principles of India's vision of the Indo-Pacific were of an open, free, progressive and prosperous region which is inclusive and respects international law.

Asked if there will be a meeting between Modi and Chinese on the sidelines of the summits, she said the details of the bilateral meetings were still being worked out.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, November 12 2018. 19:05 IST