Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday said that strategic partnership between India and ASEAN is based on shared historical, geographical and cultural heritage during the ASEAN Summit, reported ANI.

PM Modi said, “ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy. There are many similarities between India’s ‘Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative’ and ASEAN’s ‘Outlook on Indo Pacific’.”

PM Modi co-chaired the 17th ASEAN-India Summit along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc. All the leaders of the ten ASEAN Member States are participating in the Summit which is being held online. 

PM Modi further talked about India’s relations with ASEAN and said, “It’s of prime importance for us to improve physical, economic, societal, digital, financial & maritime connections b/w India and ASEAN.”

He added, “We’ve come closer in these sectors in the last couple of years and I believe this summit will go further to bridge gaps.”