*The visit is being described by the PM as a symbolic commitment to deepening ties with the member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (
Asean
) and the Indo-Pacific region as part of the 'Act East Policy'.
*Ahead of the two summits, the PM will hold a bilateral meeting with Filipino President
Rodrigo Duterte on November 13.
*On the same day, the Prime Minister will attend the Asean Business and Investment Summit.
*On November 14, he will attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership meeting in Manila, endeavouring to further enhance India's trade and investment ties with Asean member states, which constitute a significant over 10 per cent of India's external trade.
*The meeting will be followed by the 15th India-Asean Summit and the 12th
East Asia Summit
in Manila.
*The current visit is all the more significant as this year marks the 25th anniversary of the India-Asean dialogue partnership and the golden jubilee of the formation of the Asean.
*During his visit, the PM will also be interacting with the Indian community in the
Philippines
.
*Meetings with world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who are attending the East Asia Summit, are likely on the sidelines.
*The Summits will be attended by Heads of State/Government of the 10 ASEAN and 18 East Asia Summit Participating Countries respectively.
*This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Philippines in 36 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1981.
*The Asean group comprises of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos
, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
*The 10-member grouping Asean and India comprise a total population of 1.85 billion people which is one-fourth of the global population. The combined GDP has been estimated at over 3.8 trillion dollars.
*Trade between India and Asean stood at $65.04 billion in 2015-16 and comprises 10.12 per cent of India's total trade with the world.
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