New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that he will participate in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit virtually. The announcement came after Modi held a warm conversation with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, congratulating him on Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and wishing success for the upcoming Summits.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Modi wrote, “Had a warm conversation with my dear friend, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia. Congratulated him on Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and conveyed best wishes for the success of upcoming Summits.”

He added, “Look forward to joining the ASEAN-India Summit virtually, and to further deepening of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had earlier confirmed that Modi would not travel to Kuala Lumpur for the 47th ASEAN Summit at the end of this month.

"We touched on the organization of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this month. He informed me that he will attend virtually due to the ongoing Deepavali celebrations in India at that time," he said.

He further extended festive greetings, stating, "I respect his decision and extended my greetings for a happy Deepavali to him and the entire people of India."

Anwar Ibrahim also highlighted India’s importance as a partner for Malaysia. "Last night, I received a phone call from a colleague of the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi, to discuss efforts to strengthen Malaysia-India bilateral relations to a more strategic and comprehensive level. India remains an important partner for Malaysia in the fields of trade and investment, in addition to close cooperation in the sectors of technology, education, and regional security," he said.

Concluding his remarks, Ibrahim reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to both bilateral and regional collaboration. "Malaysia will remain committed to strengthening Malaysia-India relations and further enhancing ASEAN-India cooperation towards a more peaceful and prosperous region," he added.

The ASEAN summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur from October 26 to 28.

Malaysia has invited Trump as well as leaders of several countries which are the dialogue partners of the ASEAN. Trump is set to travel to Kuala Lumpur on October 26 on a two-day trip.

The ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992. This graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and summit level partnership in 2002.

The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012.

The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The two-way relations between India and ASEAN have been on a significant upswing in the last few years with focus being on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence.

(with inputs from PTI & ANI)