Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday morning to attend the ASEAN-India and the East Asia summits, which saw him hailing India's ties with ASEAN countries.
"PM @narendramodi lands in Jakarta," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posted on social media platform X. The Prime Minister was received at the airport by Indonesia's Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection I. Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati.
The Prime Minister who hailed Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising the Summit said: "India supports the ASEAN outlook on Indo-Pacific." Modi also called for building a rules-based post-COVID world order and strengthening the voice of the Global South. "ASEAN is the epicentre of growth, it plays a crucial role in global development. The 21st century is Asia's century. It is a century of all of us," he said.
My remarks at the ASEAN-India Summit. https://t.co/OGpzOIKjIf
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 7, 2023
"It will be mutually beneficial for all of us to develop a rules-based post-Covid world order as well as efforts by all (Sabka Prayas) for human welfare," Modi said.
He added that there has been consistent progress in "our mutual cooperation" in spite of the atmosphere of global uncertainty. "ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East policy, he added. The prime minister also noted that the ASEAN-India partnership has entered its fourth decade and ASEAN occupies a prominent place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative, he said.
He also posed with ASEAN leaders for a photograph at the summit venue.
Ahead of his departure from New Delhi, Modi said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN has injected new dynamism into the group's ties with New Delhi.
Modi gets a rousing welcome
The members of the Indian community were all excited to welcome PM Modi in Jakarta.
On arrival, the Prime Minister greeted the members of the Indian diaspora who gathered at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta to welcome him amid chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Modi Modi'. They waved the Tricolour and chanted "Modi Modi" and "Vande Mataram".
"We're very excited to come here at 3 am in the morning, we're eagerly for our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi", said a member of the Indian diaspora in Jakarta.
