Stage set for ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit

All 10 nation heads of ASEAN member nations will be in India to attend the summit and also grace this year's Republic Day celebrations.

"In the course of the last one year we have been celebrating 25 years of India-ASEAN relations, 15 years of summit partnership with ASEAN and 5 years of our strategic partnership," Secretary East, Preeti Saran has said.

The visiting guests would be starting to arrivere from Wednesday, January 24, sources said.

Besides the engagements at the Summit, which is being organised to mark 25 years of India's relations with ASEAN nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a series of bilateral engagements on cards.

Among the first, Mr Modi is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc and and the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday evening.

 Mr Modi will also hold bilateral talks and issues of regional importance with Myanmar's state Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Thursday, January 25, Prime Minister will hold talks with his Thailand counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha followed by a meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

There is also a scheduled meeting with Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah.

President Ram Nath Kovind will be hosting a lunch for the visiting ASEAN guests on Thursday at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

There will be a special Retreat of Prime Minister with ASEAN heads of nations at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The theme of the Retreat will be Maritime Cooperation and Security.

There will be release of a Commemorative Stamp by Prime Minister Modi in the presence of ASEAN leaders and this will be followed by Plenary session under the theme -  'Shared Value, Common Destiny', official sources said.