Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the upcoming ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, virtually instead of in person. This decision rules out a potential face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines, despite recent speculation of a diplomatic opportunity to ease tensions.
The summit is scheduled to be held from October 26 to 28. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to represent India physically at the meeting.
Key Context:
- Trump’s Attendance: The US President is scheduled to attend the summit in person as part of a three-nation Asia visit.
- Strained Ties: A meeting between the two leaders was anticipated to address ongoing friction in India-US ties, particularly concerning US tariffs imposed over India’s continued imports of Russian oil and stalled negotiations for a bilateral trade deal.
- PM’s History: Modi has regularly attended the annual summit in person from 2014 to 2019, only missing the 2022 edition after the two virtual summits held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Reason for Virtual Attendance: The announcement was made after a conversation between PM Modi and his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim. While the government did not state an explicit reason for not travelling, some reports cited scheduling issues and the concurrent Deepavali celebrations in India.
- Opposition Reaction: The opposition Congress party was quick to criticize the move, suggesting the Prime Minister chose to avoid the summit to prevent being “cornered” by Trump on the contentious issues affecting the bilateral relationship.
This virtual participation means that a highly anticipated opportunity for the two leaders to meet and push forward key trade and energy negotiations this year will likely be missed.
