Obama, Indian prime minister meet during summit

“This is the third time I am attending these Summits”, Mr. Modi said in a post on his Facebook page yesterday, on the eve of his departure on the two-day trip.

Training his guns on Pakistan yet again, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for isolating the country, which he said, was seeking advantage in exporting terrorism.

According to sources, during Thursday’s meeting, both leaders reviewed the immediate priorities in the strategic partnership between the two countries. “East Asia Summit is the premier forum for discussions on the challenges and opportunities before the Asia Pacific region” he said.

“We have to join our efforts and cooperate on multiple levels to fight the situation, ‘ noted the leader in his address to the Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The time has come to isolate sanction this instigator”, said Modi who was attending the 14th India-Asean Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

“Sea lanes are life lines of global trade”.

He said it was good that the situation in the sea “has not escalated significantly in the last few months”, and welcomed initial steps by China and the Philippines to resume dialogue on their dispute.

He also said that India as already implemented 54 activities mentioned in the ASEAN-India Plan of Action.

A recent meeting of the India-UK joint group on counter terrorism was “useful”, Modi said as he called for greater collaboration in cyber security and intelligence sharing and information gathering.

“President Obama praised Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives to reform the Indian economy”, the sources said.

Noting that cooperation in science and technology was a crucial element of development engagement, Modi proposed to enhance the ASEAN-India Fund with an additional grant of Dollars 50 million.

This would be the eighth meeting between Modi and Obama in two years.

ASEAN is a strategic partner of India since 2012. It shows Modi pointing his index finger at Barack Obama, the president of the United States.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Prime Minister Modi also MetState Counsellor of Myanmar and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi and President of Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye.

“All three pillars of our partnership – security, economic and socio-cultural have registered good progress”, he said, adding that engagement of India-ASEAN is of “economic optimism”.