Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar to Represent New Delhi at ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits in Cambodia

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will travel to Cambodia for a three-day trip beginning on November 11 to represent New Delhi at the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits, according to officials on Thursday. Nearly a week after the summits, the defense ministers of India and Cambodia will hold a meeting, marking the first such engagement between the two sides as they celebrate 2022 as the “friendship year” to commemorate 30 years of relations. The 19th ASEAN-India summit is set to take place on November 12, followed by the 17th East Asia summit on November 13, both in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Cambodia is hosting the summits as the current chair of ASEAN, a 10-member grouping that includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, stated during a special media briefing in New Delhi that at the summits, leaders of both sides will “assess the progress made and exchange views on the future course of our ties and the relationship in the coming decade.” He described ASEAN as “central” to India’s Act East policy and its broader vision of the Indo-Pacific, and also mentioned other planned activities including the first ASEAN-India defense ministers meeting, scheduled for November 20, and the inaugural ASEAN-India maritime exercise to be held in the first quarter of next year.