PM Narendra Modi invites ASEAN leaders on India’s Republic Day 2018
MANILA (Philippines): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited the ASEAN leaders to be chief guests at India’s 69th Republic Day celebrations. Addressing at the 15th ASEAN-India Summit, Prime Minister Modi said, “I look forward to receiving you at the India-ASEAN Special Commemorative Summit on January 25, 2018 in New Delhi. The 1.25 billion people of India are keen to welcome the ASEAN Leaders as our Chief Guests at India’s 69th Republic Day Celebrations.”
“As a part of 25th celebrations of India-ASEAN celebrations, in that context when the summit took place today, all the members of the ASEAN countries warmly welcomed our Prime Minister for this particular summit. Prime Minister invited all the ten leaders ASEAN member’s countries for a commemorative summit to be held on January 25 and then he invited them to be chief guests for our republic day celebrations on January 26, 2018,” Secretary (East) in the Ministry of Exernal Affairs Preeti Saran said in a press briefing.
“India assures the ASEAN of its steady support towards achieving a rules-based regional security architecture that best attests to the region’s interests and its peaceful development,” PM Modi said in his address at the 15th ASEAN-India Summit in Manila. “I look forward to a befitting culmination of the commemorative year and receiving you at the India-ASEAN special commemorative summit on January 25, 2018, in New Delhi.
The ASEAN-India Summit happened alongside the ongoing East Asia Summit, the premier forum in the Asia-Pacific region. Apart from the 10 ASEAN member states, East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Russia.
This is not the first time that the Modi government has dovetailed the Republic Day celebrations with the chance of a bilateral, or in this case multilateral, summit meet with visiting leaders. Then US President Barack Obama was the chief guest in 2015, followed by then French President Fracois Hollande in 2016. UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the chief guest at the parade in 2017.
The 2018 Republic Day celebration is likely to see the participation of the heads of state of all 10 ASEAN nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. This will be the first time at the Indian Republic Day celebrations for Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei, Laos and Myanmar. It will be the third time attending for Indonesia and the second for Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.(With Agency Inputs ).
