PM Modi meets Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ahead of India-ASEAN summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in New Delhi. Duterte and other ASEAN leaders arrived in the capital today, a day ahead of the India-ASEAN summit.

All the 10 ASEAN leaders will also be the chief guests at the Republic Day parade.

PM Modi welcomed Duterte at Hyderabad House in the evening. The Philippine President was received at the airport by Minister of State (MoS) for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh. 

Adding momentum to the close relationship! PM @narendramodi met with President of Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte. Trade and investment, defence & security, education and people-to-people cooperation were discussed. An agreement to facilitate investment was signed. #aseanindia pic.twitter.com/qmojpsbIDI

— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 24, 2018

Besides Duterte, PM Modi also met Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of tomorrow's Summit. 

The highest-level of participation at the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, to mark the 25 years of Indo-ASEAN ties, comes in the backdrop of increasing Chinese economic and military assertiveness in the region.

In the run-up to the summit, various programmes in different areas ranging from culture to trade have been organised by India.

The two-day summit is expected to give boost to India- ASEAN cooperation in key areas of counter-terrorism, security and connectivity.

There will be a leaders' retreat during which the leaders will have a "free and frank" discussion on January 25. The theme of the retreat session is 'maritime cooperation and security'.

Following the retreat, a plenary session will be held on the same day.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) comprises Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos and Brunei.

All the leaders will then witness Republic Day parade on January 26.