27.1.18

PM’s op-ed in 10 nations

India and Asean have relations “free from contests and claims” and believe in sovereign equality of all nations irrespective of size, and support for free and open pathways of commerce and engagement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.

Twenty-seven newspapers in 10 languages in 10 Asean countries have published the op-ed by Prime Minister on the historic occasion of 69th Republic Day and the Asean-India Commemorative Summit.

In the article, ‘shared values, common destiny’ published in the Straits Times, Modi highlighted the importance of India's ties with Asean nations, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. “India and Asean nations have relations free from contests and claims,” Modi said.

“We have a common vision for the future, built on commitment to inclusion and integration, belief in sovereign equality of all nations irrespective of size, and support for free and open pathways of commerce and engagement,” he said.

Modi said that he had the privilege to host the Asean leaders for the commemorative summit to mark 25 years of Asean-India partnership. It is a historic milestone in a remarkable journey that has brought India and Asean to a deepening partnership of great promise for their 1.9 billion people, about onefourth of humankind, he said in the article.

The India-Asean partnership may be just 25 years old, but with South-east Asia stretch back more than two millennia, Modi said.

Forged in peace and friendship, religion and culture, art and commerce, language and literature, these enduring links are now present in every facet of the magnificent diversity of India and South-east Asia, providing a unique envelope of comfort and familiarity between our people, he said.

Asean is India’s fourth-largest trading partner; India is Asean’s seventh.

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