ASEAN Summit: PM Modi and US President Obama's bonhomie in Laos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama were seen bonding at Gala dinner hosted by Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith. Obama and PM Modi are expected to hold bilateral meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

Vientiane: PM Modi, US President Obama and Brunei''s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at Gala dinner hosted by Laos PM. pic.twitter.com/Bk6BUvuW8A

— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2016

Vientiane: PM Modi and US President Obama at the Gala dinner hosted by Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith (earlier visuals) pic.twitter.com/07xtnSgecQ

— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2016

President Obama also met his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte briefly and exchanged pleasantries on Wednesday, officials said, easing tensions after an acrimonious fallout that cast a shadow over an Asian leaders' summit in Laos. The presidents of the two longtime allies were due to hold talks for the first time on Tuesday but the White House scrapped the meeting after the volatile Duterte insulted Obama.

"I'm very happy that it happened," Philippines' foreign minister, Perfecto Yasay, said of their short meeting. "It all springs from the fact that the relationship between the Philippines and the United States is firm, very strong."

Obama cancelled yesterday's planned meeting with Duterte on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-hosted summit after the notoriously acid-tongued Philippine president launched a barrage of insults the previous day. His outburst was in response to comments by Obama's aides that the US president planned to raise concerns about Duterte's war on crime that has claimed 3,000 lives in just over two months.

"You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told reporters when asked about his message for Obama.

"We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me."