Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will be on a three-day visit to Belgium later this week to attend the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit, the first multilateral dialogue that he will attend after taking office, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Monday.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will be on a three-day visit to Belgium later this week to attend the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit, the first multilateral dialogue that he will attend after taking office, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Monday.
Naidu will lead an Indian delegation to the summit, scheduled to be held on October 18-19 in Brussels.
"The bi-annual event is considered the highest platform for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe in the areas of trade, investment, security and tourism. This will also be the first multilateral summit that the vice president will be attending after taking office in August," the MEA said in a statement.
The theme of this year's ASEM summit is 'Global Partners for Global Challenges'.
The 2018 summit, hosted by the European Union, will be chaired by the President of the European Council. A number of heads of states and heads of government are expected to participate in the summit, it said.
"ASEM Agenda for 2018 will prioritise issues related to connectivity, trade and investment, sustainable development, climate change, terrorism, migration, maritime security and cyberspace," the MEA said.
Apart from the opening ceremony, Naidu will participate in the Plenary Session and have interactions with various stakeholders. In addition, the vice president will call on the King of the Belgians, it said.
He will also have bilateral meetings with the heads of state and government from Austria, Portugal, Switzerland and other countries on the sidelines of the summit.
On October 20, the vice president will address the Indian diaspora at the Jain Culture Centre in Wilrijk, Antwerp. He will also pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi by offering flowers to his statue located in the Governorate of Antwerp, the MEA said.
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