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    Donald Trump praises India's growth story, PM Modi at APEC Summit

    Synopsis

    PM Modi is leaving for the Philippines on Sunday to attend the India-ASEAN and East Asia summits. Trump is also scheduled to attend the East Asia Summit.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump ahead of his meeting with Narendra Modi in Manila early next week in Manila (on sidelines of EAS) on Friday heaped praises on the Indian PM for bringing the country's people "together as one...very, very successfully" and commended India for being the world's largest democracy and for achieving astounding growth.

    Trump’s praise for Modi while addressing APEC Summit in Vietnam came a day after his visit to China where US signed commercial deals worth billions of dollars and should be viewed as an attempt to balance US policy vis-à-vis India and China. The US President’s daughter Ivanka Trump will lead US delegation at Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad end of the month and this will be followed by a possible visit by Trump here next year.

    Trump commended India for being the world's largest democracy and for achieving "astounding" growth. He praised Modi for bringing the country's people "together as one...very, very successfully". Modi made a successful visit to USA last June and India is viewed as success story for Trump administration amid Washington’s intense pressure on Islamabad to act against terror and strengthening India as a counter-balance to China in Indo-Pacific region.

    "India is celebrating its 70th anniversary. It's a sovereign democracy, as well as...think of this... (one) of over one billion people," said the US President, with the flourish he has come to be known for. "It's the largest democracy in the world," he added in what could be viewed a message to China and an indication to strengthen partnership between democracies – India-US-Japan-Australia.

    Image article boday


    Interestingly Trump pulled up China less than 48 hours after he blamed past US regimes for the trade deficit. In his address at APEC Summit Trump railed against trade practices he said have put Americans out of work and warned that the US would no longer ``turn a blind eye'' to trade abuses

    Trump’s comments were timed well as it came ahead of a quadrilateral meeting of India, the US, Japan and Australia (seeking to stabilise Indo-Pacific region) at the level of foreign ministry officials on the side lines of the East Asia Summit, where India will seek to understand the agenda of the grouping. This will be followed by a Russia-India-China trilateral meet in Delhi on December 11 in what will be a balancing act by India within weeks of the quadrilateral meet.

    Meanwhile the upcoming 12th edition of the East Asia Summit is expected to echo India’s longstanding position on the need for joint efforts to counter terrorism globally and adopt declarations to this effect. Modi is scheduled to attend the event, scheduled to be held in Manila on November 14, along with representatives of other nations of the 18-member body.

    Declarations on countering the spread of terrorist narratives, money laundering and financing of terrorism, along with poverty alleviation, are likely to be adopted at the summit, officials said.

    They said the leaders at the summit will discuss matters of regional and international importance including maritime security, terrorism, non-proliferation and irregular migration.

    During his visit, the PM will have a bilateral meeting with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. He will also hold bilateral meetings with several other world leaders. The East Asia Summit is the premier forum led by the leaders in the Indo-Pacific region. Since its inception in 2005, it has played a significant role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of the region. Apart from the 10 ASEAN member states, the summit includes India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

    India, a founding member, is committed to strengthening the summit and making it more effective for dealing with contemporary challenges, officials said.

    Besides the East Asia Summit, Modi is scheduled to attend the 15th ASEAN-India Summit, where he and ASEAN leaders will review the commemorative activities undertaken in 2017 to mark 25 years of India’s dialogue partnership with ASEAN as well as review the broad spectrum of ASEAN-India cooperation in all its aspects.

    In a unique move India has invited all 10 ASEAN leaders to be the chief guests at the Republic Day on January 26 in 2018.

    India’s engagement with ASEAN and the wider Indo-Pacific region has acquired further momentum following enunciation of the ‘Act East Policy’ by Modi at the 12th ASEAN-India Summit and ninth East Asia Summit in Myanmar in November 2014, officials said.

    India and ASEAN have 30 dialogue mechanisms which meet regularly, including a summit and seven ministerial meetings in foreign affairs, commerce, tourism, agriculture, environment, renewable energy and telecommunications.

    Trade between India and ASEAN stood at $71 billion in 2016-17 and accounted for 10.85% of the country’s total trade with the world. Early conclusion of a balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement will further boost India’s trade and investment ties with the region, officials said.

    Modi will also attend a leaders’ meeting in Manila on RCEP negotiations on November 14, besides ASEAN Business and Investment Summit on November 13.

    In what would be the first PM level visit from India to Philippines since 1981, Modi’s meeting with President Duterte is likely to set up the stage for a quantitative change in bilateral relations across political, security and economic spheres.

    The PM will visit the world renowned International Rice Research Institute near Manila, which is planning to set up its first overseas chapter in Varanasi. The institute has developed better quality rice seed and helped the global community, including Indian scientists, in addressing food security. Besides, the PM will visit Mahavir Philippines Foundation, an associate centre of Jaipur-based Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti which is famous for rubber-based prosthetic leg ‘Jaipur Foot’.

    As a key country in the region with a large, educated and young population, and a fast-growing economy, the Philippines is an important partner in India’s Act East Policy. Like India, Philippines is a services powerhouse. “The present governments in both India and the Philippines are focused on good governance, inclusive growth, development of infrastructure and cooperative federalism. There is a lot of convergence in our world view in evolving geo-strategic situation in the region,” said an official.

    The PM will also participate in special celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of ASEAN. India and ASEAN together have a combined population of 1.85 billion, which is one fourth of the global population, and a combined GDP of more than $3.8 trillion, creating one of the largest economic groupings in the world. Investments from ASEAN in India in the past 17 years have totalled more than $70 billion, accounting for more than 17% of the total foreign direct investments in India. Indian investments in ASEAN during this period have been more than $40 billion.


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