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I hope ASEAN will be integral part of New India's transformation: PM Modi

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Feb 12, 2018, 11:56 AM IST
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File photo. Photograph:(PTI)

An op-ed written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been published in 27 newspapers across the ASEAN countries. 

All 10 heads of the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries were chief guests at the Republic Day parade this year. The presence of the 10 heads of state -- who are also here to attend the India-Asean commemorative summit -- is meant to symbolise India's progression from its Look East policy to "acting east". 

Modi's op-ed is headlined "Asean-India: Shared values and a common destiny", and is meant to mark the commemorative summit. 

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"This is no ordinary event. It is a historic milestone in a remarkable journey that has brought India and ASEAN in a deepening partnership of great promise for their 1.9 billion people, about one-fourth of the human kind," the op-ed says. 

"At 70, India exudes the spirit, enterprise and energy of its young population. As the fastest growing major economy in the world, India has become the new frontier of global opportunities of stability of the global economy. With every passing day, it is easier and smoother to do business in India. I hope that ASEAN nations, as our neighbours and friends, will be an integral part of New India's transformation," it adds.  

Modi ends by saying, "Indians have always looked East to see the nurturing sunrise and the light of opportunities. Now, as before, the East, or the Indo Pacific Region, will be indispensable to India’s future and our common destiny. ASEAN-India partnership will play a defining role in both. And, in Delhi, ASEAN and India renewed their pledge for the journey ahead."

The op-ed has been published, among others, in Singapore's Strait Times, Indonesia's Jakarta Post, Cambodia's Phnom Penh Post, in the Vietnam News, and in Singapore's Tamil Murasu.