"Greater connectivity is also central to the idea of regional economic integration," the prime minister said in his speech at the fifth India-ASEAN summit in Cebu, Philippines.
A 'framework agreement' as a precursor to a free trade arrangement will be signed when the prime minister is in Indonesia next week.
The national flag was in the background of Modi and Abe's customary handshake at the Summit and was hoisted on a stand next to that of Japan.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday warned that the world is witnessing a fundamental 'rupture' in the global order rather than a gradual transition, cautioning against weaponising trade, finance, and supply chains.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath will attend an informal ASEAN Economic Ministers-India Consultation in Kuala Lumpur
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the US is 'doing a trade deal with India' as the two sides continue to hold talks on the proposed trade pact.
Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta. Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn also attended the summit.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the 10th ASEAN-India summit in Phnom Penh on Monday with the aim of strengthening India's relations with countries in the South East Asian region.
The 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations is being marked. And invitations were sent by the Indian government to all ASEAN leaders for the Republic Day function.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his visit to the 13th Asean summit held at Singapore in November 2007, had indicated that India would take a flexible stand in the FTA talks.
Without mentioning the boundary dispute, the spokesperson said that China-India relations have been stable on the whole and "our two sides have maintained dialogue and communication at various levels".
'As far as the contentious issues such as agriculture are concerned, we are finding some common ground.'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night returned home from Cambodia after attending the ASEAN and East Asia Summits which provided India with an opportunity to enhance its economic cooperation with the region amid lingering financial crisis in the West.
The PM was also seen chit-chatting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at the reception for the leaders who have arrived in Manila for the 31st ASEAN summit and related meetings.
PM Modi proposed a USD one billion line of credit to promote projects that support physical and digital connectivity between India and ASEAN.
India wants more business and closer engagement with ASEAN even as China's influence spreads in the region. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Brunei, reports from Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the tiny oil-rich country.
The announcement of Modi's visit comes a day after India and China ended their 73-day standoff in Dokalam by withdrawing their troops from the area.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday left for Cambodia to attend the ASEAN and East Asia Summits which will provide an opportunity for India to enhance its economic cooperation against the backdrop of crisis in the western world.
Aiming to give fillip to India's Look East policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to announce new initiatives to take forward ties with the ASEAN by setting up a mission and appointing an ambassador for the 10-member grouping.
'The group commands 85 per cent of the global GDP, and if you are able to convey your point of view effectively to this group then you have reached more or less all the important players that matter.'
Whether Trump will actually press ahead with the oil sanctions remains unclear, since keeping Russian oil out of the world market risks high oil prices which could boomerang on the US economy and be damaging politically for Trump, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left Phnom Penh for home on Tuesday after attending the ASEAN and East Asia Summits besides holding talks with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts and interacting with United States President Barack Obama.
Sources said China was forcefully pushing for inking the deal during the RCEP summit later in the day, which was seen as an attempt to counter-balance the impact of its lingering trade war with the US as well as to project the region's economic might to the West.
While the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on his 9th India-Asean summit said that the India-China relationship was a 'complex' one, they also emphasised that India-US relations were in good shape, reports Saisuresh Sivaswamy, who is a part of his media delegation accompanying the prime minister to Bali.
Eyeing greater cooperation with South East Asian countries on economic and security issues, India on Thursday announced a separate Mission for ASEAN region to be set up in Jakarta with a full-time resident Ambassador.
There is no official word either from China or from India on who will represent Beijing at the upcoming G20 summit.
While Modi has spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor (270 days versus Dr Singh's 306), he has travelled more extensively and actively than any other Indian PM.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Monday denied the media reports of taking Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to hospital with a heart condition and called it the 'height of fakery', several media reported.
The Quad grouping has called for bringing the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice without any delay and urged UN member nations to extend cooperation for it.
One must wonder whether Mr Modi's efforts to wine and dine the Big Two of today's world were seen as a sign of weakness rather than a proffered arm of friendship, points out R Jagannathan.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Phnom Penh on Sunday and discussed bilateral ties, the raging Ukraine conflict, energy issues, G20 and the situation in the Indo-Pacific, days ahead of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden.
Both India and China are in Phnom Penh to participate in the two-day East Asia Summit, an offshoot of the Asean meet. China and India, along with the US, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are participating countries in EAS, besides the 10 Asean members.
The Summit comes at a time when China is flexing its muscle to tighten its grip over the disputed South China Sea.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concluded his three-day visit to Bali on Saturday, where he attended the India-ASEAN meet and East Asia Summit, besides holding talks with US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.
By hosting the 10 ASEAN leaders on Republic Day, India amply demonstrated that ASEAN is a central pillar of its Act East policy. But is India 'central' for ASEAN, asks Dr Rahul Mishra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made his Instagram debut, sharing a picture from the venue of the ASEAN summit.
The government expects to conclude the agreement during the December 20-21 meet.
The agenda prepared by ministers will be discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other RCEP leaders in Nonthaburi, a city north of Bangkok, on November 4, the official deadline to close talks.
'A man who brought about the greatest set of economic reforms in the country, who changed the course of Indian history, cannot be considered weak.' 'A man who fought for nuclear reforms even though his majority in Parliament was threatened, he cannot be considered weak.'
