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In his departure statement, PM Modi said that he is confident that his visit will “boost India’s bilateral relations with the Philippines and also further strengthen the politico-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars of our engagement with ASEAN.” He said:
Modi is also scheduled to visit the Philippines chapter of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, the world's largest organisation rehabilitating disabled by providing free of cost artificial limbs, calipers and other aids.
The Prime Minister said the visit to the Mahaveer Philippines Foundation in Manila “will demonstrate India's support for its activities in distributing free prosthesis 'Jaipur Foot' among the needy amputees.”
Ahead of the summits, Modi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Filipino President Roberto Duterte on 12 November
Meetings with other leaders including US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are likely on the sidelines.
Modi is also likely to participate in special celebrations of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders' Meeting and ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Manila on 12 November on a three-day visit. Hei will attend the 15th India-ASEAN Summit and the 12th East Asia Summit in Manila on Tuesday, 14 November.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted:
This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to the Philippines in 36 years since the visit of Indira Gandhi in 1981. The year 2017 also marks the 25th anniversary of the India-ASEAN dialogue partnership and the golden jubilee of the formation of ASEAN.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
PM Modi met US President Donald Trump and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on his three-day visit to the Philippines to attend the India-ASEAN and the East Asia summits.
PM Modi also met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Malaysian PM Najib Razak on the sidelines of the summit.
With China's controversial military buildup in the South China Sea likely to be a major issue at the ASEAN summit, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reiterated Beijing's long-held position that it wants to bilaterally resolve its disputes on the issue with its neighbours.
In an article published in leading newspapers in China, Li admitted that the bilateral relationship between China and the Philippines had "encountered a setback" due to the South China Sea issue but it was back on track due to appropriate handling of the issue by the two sides.
The Chinese premier, who will be here for the ASEAN and East Asia summits, said Beijing will actively explore joint development of the South China sea to make it a "sea of cooperation and friendship" for the benefit of the two countries.
Giving shape to their security cooperation under the proposed quadrilateral coalition, India, the US, Japan and Australia on Sunday held their first official-level talks to keep the Indo-Pacific region free, open and inclusive, a move that comes amid China's growing military presence in the strategic area.
The meeting comes ahead of the ASEAN summit which is also likely to discuss the security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region and China's military expansion in the South China Sea.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said the consultations were held on issues of common interest in the Indo-Pacific region with a focus on cooperation based on converging vision and values for promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in the area.
In its statement, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said the officials discussed measures to ensure a free and open international order based on the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific.
The Australian Foreign Ministry said the four countries shared vision for increased prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific region and will work together to ensure that it "remains free and open".
A musical titled “Rama Hari”, based on the characters of the Ramayana, presented at the opening ceremony of the 31st ASEAN Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, Philippines and inaugurated the Resilient Rice Field Laboratory.
The PM also tweeted that the proposal for IRRI to setup its South Asia Regional Centre at Varanasi was approved in July 2017.
“This will be the first Research Centre by IRRI outside its headquarters in the Philippines.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump in Manila, Philippines at the ASEAN Summit.
US President Donald Trump called the Indian Prime Minister a friend and a great gentleman. He said:
The two leaders are understood to have discussed the security scenario in the region besides several other issues of mutual interests, including ways to further boost bilateral trade.
Talking at the ASEAN Summit, PM Modi said the task of transforming India is proceeding at an unprecedented scale. He said we are working day and night towards easy, effective and transparent governance.
He said, with an emphasis on 'minimum government, maximum governance', about 1,200 outdated laws have been repealed in the last three years.
Speaking about ‘Make in India’, Modi said he wants to transform India into a manufacturing hub. He also said he wants to make the Indian youth not just job seekers but job creators as well.
Praising the Jan Dhan Yojana, Modi added that large sections of India did not have access to banking services, and the scheme changed that in a matter of months and transformed lives of millions.
Since the beginning of our term, we have focused on the Act East Policy, Modi said while addressing Indian diaspora in Manila on 13 November. He said India feels a special bond with these nations, adding that there would hardly be any country in the area which wouldn’t be familiar with the epic Ramayana.
The present government is trying to take the country to new heights, he said, adding that NRIs can do far more than embassies. He also added that NRIs could now work in the Phillipines without the fear of being shamed by “negative news” coming from India, as now, India only makes “positive news”.
During World War I and II, India just wanted peace, and 1.5 lakh Indians soldiers were martyred in an attempt to achieve it, the PM said. Calling India the land of Ram and Buddha, he added that even today, Indian soldiers are working for peace in several unstable regions of the world. He also said India’s contingent in the UN Peacekeeping Forces is among the largest.
Talking about the Jan Dhan Yojana, the Prime Minister said around 67,000 crore rupees have been submitted in the bank accounts opened under the scheme.
Speaking about his efforts to make India ‘swachh’, the PM said:
Modi said before 2014, Indians asked about how much money was lost in scams like the Coal Scam and the 2G Scam, now they ask how much black money has come back in the coffers.
PM Narendra Modi met the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit on Monday, 13 November.
"The cooperation between India and US can rise beyond bilateral cooperation and both countries can work for the future of Asia and the world...We are moving ahead together on many issues," Modi told Trump in his opening remarks.
The US has been pitching for greater Indo-US cooperation in the strategically key Indo-Pacific region where China has been ramping up its military presence.
PM Modi also expressed his satisfaction with his meeting with President Trump on Twitter.
In the meeting, Trump described Modi as a "friend".
"A lot of good reports are coming out of India. So I want to congratulate you," he told Modi.
At a press conference of the Ministry of External Affairs, foreign secretary S Jaishankar spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump at the ASEAN Summit in Manila, Philippines.
He also added that the issue of terrorism - in the region west of India all the way up to the middle-east - also came up during the talks,.
Speaking about the significance of Modi's visit to Philippines, MEA secretary Preeti Saran said:
Saran said that four agreements were signed between India and Philippines, including those on defence cooperation and logitics, agriculture and small and medium enterprises.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vietnamese PM Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on day 2 of the ASEAN Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull held a bilateral meet at Manila.
The two discussed “close cooperation to optimise significant potential for further cooperation across a broad range of areas”, as the MEA tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at the ASEAN Summit in Manila. The two discussed the intensifying Special Strategic and Global Partnership between the two countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for joint efforts to mitigate the menace of terrorism.
Addressing leaders of the ASEAN member states here, Prime Minister Modi said India will continue its support to ASEAN for a rules-based security architecture for the region.
Stating that 50 years of ASEAN is an occasion of pride, joy and a time to think ahead about its members can achieve, Modi said India places the ASEAN at the core of its 'Act East Policy.'
"Our ties with ASEAN are old and we want to further strengthen cooperation," he said.
Preeti Saran, Secretary of East, MEA briefed the press today about the activities of the Prime Minister at the ASEAN Summit. She said all the ASEAN leaders graciously accepted the Prime Minister’s invitation to the Republic Day celebrations in India next year.
She also said that a lot of importance was given to the element of connectivity by the Prime Minister and the other ASEAN leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his way back to India from Manila, Philippines after a successful ASEAN Summit.
Amidst buzz of a quadrilateral grouping with US, Japan, and Australia as a counter to China, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday came out strongly in support of a safe, secure, and free navigation in the Indo-Pacific region and for adherence to rule of law and international arbitration.
On the sidelines of the India-ASEAN and East Asia Summits, he also spoke of regional peace and security to counter the scourge of terrorism, including cross-border terror.
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