On East Asian Summit sidelines, Modi meets Thai PM Shinawatra, Laos’ President

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a brief interaction with US secretary of state Antony Blinken on the margins of the East Asia Summit in Laos on Friday and conveyed his condolences on the loss of lives due to Hurricane Milton.
There was no official word from both sides on the conversation between Modi and Blinken, who were both in the Lao capital of Vientiane to attend meetings related to the Asean Summit.
Modi met Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for the first time on the margins of the East Asia Summit and congratulated her on assuming office. The two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation in a range of areas and ways to forge closer collaboration in sub-regional, regional, and multilateral forums, the external affairs ministry said in a readout.
In this context, they discussed the strengthening of regional cooperation through the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec).
“Thailand is a deeply valued friend of India’s. Our talks were focused on how to improve trade ties between our nations and to boost cultural linkages. We also see great scope in sectors like defence, shipping, digital innovations and more,” Modi said on X.
Modi also held separate meetings with Laos’ President Thongloun Sisoulith and Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and discussed ways to expand ties and cooperation with the Southeast Asian country.
The two sides signed six agreements for cooperation in areas such as defence, customs matters and broadcasting and for projects to preserve the performing art of Phalak-Phalam (Lao Ramayana) drama and renovation of Wat Phakea temple in Luang Prabang province and preservation of the shadow puppet theatre performance in Champasak province. India will provide a grant of $50,000 for each of the three projects.
The Indian side also announced assistance worth $1 million through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund for a project to improve nutrition security in Laos. This will be the Fund’s first such project in Southeast Asia
Modi congratulated Thongloun for successfully hosting the Asean Summit and East Asia Summit. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the close bilateral partnership and expressed satisfaction with ongoing collaboration in development partnership and heritage restoration.
Both Thongloun and Sonexay thanked Modi for India’s humanitarian assistance to Laos in the wake of floods caused by Typhoon Yagi.
At his meeting with Sonexay, Modi discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation in areas such as development partnership, capacity building, disaster management, renewable energy, economic ties and defence.