Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday co-chaired the India-<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/with-indo-pacific-in-focus-india-asean-virtual-summit-to-take-place-on-thursday-342470">ASEAN</a>&nbsp;summit focussing on India's "Act East Policy".

Watch:

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The leaders of ten ASEAN member states are participating in the summit which is being held online.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/vietnam-invites-india-for-asean-virtual-summit-in-november-336723">Also Read:&nbsp;Vietnam invites India for ASEAN virtual summit</a>

PM Modi along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc will co-chair the 17th ASEAN-India Summit.

"There are many similarities between India's 'Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative' &amp; ASEAN's 'Outlook on Indo Pacific',"&nbsp;PM Modi said in his online message, adding, "strategic partnership of India &amp; ASEAN is based on our shared historical, geographical &amp; cultural heritage."

"ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy," PM Modi asserted.

"It's of prime importance for us to improve physical, economic, societal, digital, financial and maritime connections between India &amp; ASEAN," PM Modi said at the virtual meeting.

"We have come closer in these sectors in the last couple of years and I believe this summit will go further to bridge gaps," the Indian prime minister said.

Earlier, Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaking on the challenges said, "Peace and security have been facing greater threat as the result of compounding risk rising from the unpredictable conduct of states, major power rivalry and frictions that challenged the international multilateral system, increasingly non-traditional security issues and the rise of extremist tendency."

Vietnam's foreign ministry has not confirmed whether President Trump would attend the virtual meeting. The US president had attended the summit in 2017, however, the Trump administration has only sent representatives during the last two meetings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday co-chaired the India-ASEAN summit focussing on India's "Act East Policy". Watch: The leaders of ten ASEAN member states are participating in the summit which is being held online.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday co-chaired the India-ASEAN summit focussing on India's "Act East Policy". Watch: The leaders of ten ASEAN member states are participating in the summit which is being held online. Also Read: Vietnam invites India for ASEAN virtual summit PM Modi along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc will co-chair the 17th ASEAN-India Summit. "There are many similarities between India's 'Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative' & ASEAN's 'Outlook on Indo Pacific'," PM Modi said in his online message, adding, "strategic partnership of India & ASEAN is based on our shared historical, geographical & cultural heritage." "ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy," PM Modi asserted. "It's of prime importance for us to improve physical, economic, societal, digital, financial and maritime connections between India & ASEAN," PM Modi said at the virtual meeting. "We have come closer in these sectors in the last couple of years and I believe this summit will go further to bridge gaps," the Indian prime minister said. Earlier, Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaking on the challenges said, "Peace and security have been facing greater threat as the result of compounding risk rising from the unpredictable conduct of states, major power rivalry and frictions that challenged the international multilateral system, increasingly non-traditional security issues and the rise of extremist tendency." Vietnam's foreign ministry has not confirmed whether President Trump would attend the virtual meeting. The US president had attended the summit in 2017, however, the Trump administration has only sent representatives during the last two meetings.

ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy, says PM Modi during virtual summit

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's economic and commercial policies. &nbsp;

Addressing the inaugural session of 'Start-Up and Innovation Exhibition' here, Jaishankar said, "In political, strategic as well as economic and commercial areas, Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's policies. Today, what started as a bilateral relationship is something that has grown very much bigger. On rule-based issues, we think similarly."

During the Plenary session, the minister recalled that India and Singapore came together in a very contemporary phase, at a time when the world was changing, including India.

"The two changes (India and Singapore) had something to do with each other," he said.

India, at that time, had a severe balance of payments crisis and was embarking on radical economic reform.

&nbsp;"In that situation, India turned to Singapore and Singapore responded. We had the Look East Policy. Singapore then became a key partner in India's growth and development," Jaishankar added.

In 1992, India launched the India-Asian partnership and by 2005 "we" were members of the East Asia Summit, the minister said.&nbsp;

During this period Singapore was a direct source of investments into India. Its financial market was a major source of capital. It became a favoured and comfortable destination for Indian companies going abroad.&nbsp;

Around 20 per cent of India's investments came from Singapore and more than 9000 Indian companies were registered here, he noted.

Recollecting his service as a High Commissioner of India then, Jaishankar further added that Singapore was the first country with whom India had signed the comprehensive economic partnership agreement and said, "It was my privilege to serve here as these engagements took off." &nbsp;

"We have a very robust defence relationship. We have just completed 25 years of uninterrupted Naval exercises, which I think is the longest that India has with any country in the world," Jaishankar said on the occasion.

Speaking in terms of geopolitics, it's not only the rise of China and the sharper competition between the United States and China but the simultaneous rise of several countries.

"There is no hegemonic power to underwrite an international order but nor is there a global compact among nations. The international situation today is under stress, a very different one from 1992," the minister stressed.

During an interactive session following his address, Jaishankar also said that the "big concerns of India include its relationship with China because we run an enormous trade deficit with China which we believe is a result of unfairly restricted market access."

Prior to the event, Jaishankar and his Singapore counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan also attended 'InSpreneur3.0 - A Start-Up and Innovation Exhibition' in which around 60 startups from India had taken part in the exhibition. 
Jaishankar is currently in Singapore on a three-day visit.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's economic and commercial policies. Addressing the inaugural session of 'Start-Up and Innovation Exhibition' here, Jaishankar said, "In political, strategic as well as economic and commercial areas, Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's policies.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's economic and commercial policies. Addressing the inaugural session of 'Start-Up and Innovation Exhibition' here, Jaishankar said, "In political, strategic as well as economic and commercial areas, Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's policies. Today, what started as a bilateral relationship is something that has grown very much bigger. On rule-based issues, we think similarly." During the Plenary session, the minister recalled that India and Singapore came together in a very contemporary phase, at a time when the world was changing, including India. "The two changes (India and Singapore) had something to do with each other," he said. India, at that time, had a severe balance of payments crisis and was embarking on radical economic reform. "In that situation, India turned to Singapore and Singapore responded. We had the Look East Policy. Singapore then became a key partner in India's growth and development," Jaishankar added. In 1992, India launched the India-Asian partnership and by 2005 "we" were members of the East Asia Summit, the minister said. During this period Singapore was a direct source of investments into India. Its financial market was a major source of capital. It became a favoured and comfortable destination for Indian companies going abroad. Around 20 per cent of India's investments came from Singapore and more than 9000 Indian companies were registered here, he noted. Recollecting his service as a High Commissioner of India then, Jaishankar further added that Singapore was the first country with whom India had signed the comprehensive economic partnership agreement and said, "It was my privilege to serve here as these engagements took off." "We have a very robust defence relationship. We have just completed 25 years of uninterrupted Naval exercises, which I think is the longest that India has with any country in the world," Jaishankar said on the occasion. Speaking in terms of geopolitics, it's not only the rise of China and the sharper competition between the United States and China but the simultaneous rise of several countries. "There is no hegemonic power to underwrite an international order but nor is there a global compact among nations. The international situation today is under stress, a very different one from 1992," the minister stressed. During an interactive session following his address, Jaishankar also said that the "big concerns of India include its relationship with China because we run an enormous trade deficit with China which we believe is a result of unfairly restricted market access." Prior to the event, Jaishankar and his Singapore counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan also attended 'InSpreneur3.0 - A Start-Up and Innovation Exhibition' in which around 60 startups from India had taken part in the exhibition. Jaishankar is currently in Singapore on a three-day visit.

Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's economic policies: S Jaishankar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the&nbsp;inaugural session of the Advantage Assam-Global Investors&#39;&nbsp;Summit in Guwahati.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a> PM Modi addresses the inaugural session of Advantage Assam-Global Investors Summit in Guwahati <a href="https://t.co/mjh3hQZnxT">https://t.co/mjh3hQZnxT</a>
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The prime minister said that India&#39;s growth story would be expedited once the Northeast developed.

&quot;India&#39;s growth story will pick up more speed when people living in Northeast region will see fast development in a balanced manner,&quot; the prime minister said at the summit which aims at positioning the state as India&#39;s expressway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

&quot;We created the Act East Policy and the Northeast is at the heart of it,&quot; PM Modi said&nbsp;

The prime minister&nbsp;said the tagline of the of the summit, &#39;Advantage Assam: India&rsquo;s Expressway to ASEAN&rsquo;, was very appropriate and gave a big message.

&quot;Advantage Assam: India&rsquo;s Expressway to ASEAN&rsquo; is not just a statement but it is a comprehensive vision,&quot; PM Modi said.

PM Modi praised Assam for ranking first among the Northeast states in the Ease of Doing Business report.

&quot;Assam is ranked first among the Northeastern States in the Ease of Doing Business report. With the present leadership of the state government, Assam is going to further improve its current position to emerge as one of the most sought-after states for investment,&quot; the prime minister said.

PM Modi said his government was restructuring the National Bamboo mission with an amount of Rs 1300 crore. 
 
&quot;We are restructuring the &#39;National Bamboo mission&#39;&nbsp;with the amount of Rs 1300 crore. This will benefit people of Northeast, especially the farmers of this region,&quot; he said.

PM Modi also said the working style of the government had been changed.

&quot;We have changed the working style of govt. We want all programmes to be completed ahead of target,&quot; he said.

The prime minister also spoke about the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme announced in the budget, stating that it would benefit 45-50 crore people. He added that the scheme had enhanced possibilities of setting up hospitals in tier 2 and 3 cities.

&quot;Government in the budget announced Ayushman Bharat Yojana, This is one of its kind, the biggest programme in the World. Someone who has lived in poverty, who had endured pains of poverty and moved forward, that person always realises that the biggest concern of poor is the treatment of diseases,&quot; PM Modi said.

He also spoke about how the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector was a priority for the government which had given a &quot;big relief&quot; to the MSMEs in this year&#39;s budget.

&quot;Development of the MSME sector is a priority for us. In this year&#39;s budget we are giving big relief to MSMEs by reducing the rate of income tax to 25% on companies reporting a turnover of up to Rs 250 crore.

Also in attendance was the Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay.

&nbsp;

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PM Narendra Modi with Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay at Advantage Assam - Global Investors Summit 2018 in Guwahati. <a href="https://t.co/LhWr8v4Bbx">pic.twitter.com/LhWr8v4Bbx</a>
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&nbsp;

The two-day summit, organised by the Assam Government, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), will showcase Assam&#39;s manufacturing opportunities and geostrategic advantages to foreign and domestic investors.

The focus sectors identified by the state include agriculture and food processing, organic farming, bamboo, handloom, textile and handicrafts, inland water transport, riverfront development and logistics.&nbsp; 
 
(With inputs from&nbsp;agencies) 
&nbsp;

PM Modi said that India's growth story would be expedited once the North East developed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the Advantage Assam-Global Investors' Summit in Guwahati. #WATCH PM Modi addresses the inaugural session of Advantage Assam-Global Investors Summit in Guwahati https://t.co/mjh3hQZnxT — ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2018 × The prime minister said that India's growth story would be expedited once the Northeast developed. "India's growth story will pick up more speed when people living in Northeast region will see fast development in a balanced manner," the prime minister said at the summit which aims at positioning the state as India's expressway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. "We created the Act East Policy and the Northeast is at the heart of it," PM Modi said The prime minister said the tagline of the of the summit, 'Advantage Assam: India’s Expressway to ASEAN’, was very appropriate and gave a big message. "Advantage Assam: India’s Expressway to ASEAN’ is not just a statement but it is a comprehensive vision," PM Modi said. PM Modi praised Assam for ranking first among the Northeast states in the Ease of Doing Business report. "Assam is ranked first among the Northeastern States in the Ease of Doing Business report. With the present leadership of the state government, Assam is going to further improve its current position to emerge as one of the most sought-after states for investment," the prime minister said. PM Modi said his government was restructuring the National Bamboo mission with an amount of Rs 1300 crore. "We are restructuring the 'National Bamboo mission' with the amount of Rs 1300 crore. This will benefit people of Northeast, especially the farmers of this region," he said. PM Modi also said the working style of the government had been changed. "We have changed the working style of govt. We want all programmes to be completed ahead of target," he said. The prime minister also spoke about the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme announced in the budget, stating that it would benefit 45-50 crore people. He added that the scheme had enhanced possibilities of setting up hospitals in tier 2 and 3 cities. "Government in the budget announced Ayushman Bharat Yojana, This is one of its kind, the biggest programme in the World. Someone who has lived in poverty, who had endured pains of poverty and moved forward, that person always realises that the biggest concern of poor is the treatment of diseases," PM Modi said. He also spoke about how the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector was a priority for the government which had given a "big relief" to the MSMEs in this year's budget. "Development of the MSME sector is a priority for us. In this year's budget we are giving big relief to MSMEs by reducing the rate of income tax to 25% on companies reporting a turnover of up to Rs 250 crore. Also in attendance was the Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay. PM Narendra Modi with Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay at Advantage Assam - Global Investors Summit 2018 in Guwahati. pic.twitter.com/LhWr8v4Bbx — ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2018 × The two-day summit, organised by the Assam Government, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), will showcase Assam's manufacturing opportunities and geostrategic advantages to foreign and domestic investors. The focus sectors identified by the state include agriculture and food processing, organic farming, bamboo, handloom, textile and handicrafts, inland water transport, riverfront development and logistics. (With inputs from agencies)

Northeast at heart of Act East policy: PM Modi in Assam

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ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy, says PM Modi during virtual summit

Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's economic policies: S Jaishankar

Northeast at heart of Act East policy: PM Modi in Assam