PM Modi wraps up successful Singapore visit
Modi Outlined India's Vision for Peaceful, Open and Inclusive Indo-Pacific Region
By Ashok Dixit
New Delhi/Singapore, Nov 15, 2018: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was heading back to India late Thursday after attending the 13th East Asia Summit where he reiterated India's vision for a peaceful, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. He also called for enhanced maritime cooperation and a commitment towards having a balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with member states of the ASEAN.
The East Asia Summit consists of ten ASEAN nations (Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
During his two-day multilateral visit to Singapore, which commenced from Wednesday (November 15) morning, Modi participated in the ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit, delivered a keynote address at the third Fintech Festival and held bilateral meetings with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, and the Prime Ministers of Singapore, Australia and Thailand.
He also met winning innovators at the first ever Singapore-India Hackathon, where the latter talked about their extensive work. The Prime Minister said he was impressed by their passion and commitment towards solving the problems the world.
He interacted with National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets, who got the opportunity to come to Singapore as a part of a cadet exchange programme. They shared their memorable learnings and experiences with Modi.
The signature event of the visit was Modi’s interaction with United States Vice President Michael Pence, where it was specifically acknowledged by the latter that India had made substantial progress economically and diplomatically in regional and international affairs under the former’s strong leadership.
Vice President Pence further said that Washington is looking forward to working with New Delhi on various issues. Both leaders also referred to their shared values and commitment to democracy based on rule of law and constitutional processes.
Prime Minister Modi also outlined India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific, which he claimed was gaining acceptability and urged that the 13th East Asia Summit be used to further build up on that. Vice President Pence also spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific, adding that India’s contribution would be important.
Bilaterally, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the focus was on trade-related matters and how further efforts could be made to reduce the existing trade deficit that New Delhi has with Washington.
Gokhale said, “There was a lot of discussion on energy, this is a new sector in the Indo-U.S. relations. We have begun importing oil and gas from United States. It is expected to be valued at about USD 4 billion this year and we expressed our readiness to import more oil and more gas from the United States as a way of expanding our trade.”
Both sides also agreed that there has been a substantial enhancement in the bilateral defence relationship, with Prime Minister Modi particularly stressing that the United States has a great opportunity in making defence equipment and setting up a defence industry in India.
The issue of terrorism came during the meeting, wherein, both leaders appreciated the very high level of bilateral cooperation on counter-terrorism.