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| ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn | Photo: X @ani_digital ANIAsia |
This is the first official visit of Kao Kim Hourn to India since taking office in January 2023. The visit will take place from February 11 to 15.
In a post on X, Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), warmly welcomed ASEAN Secretary-General hourn_kao on his first official visit to India. This is an opportunity to further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and ASEAN.
During the visit, Kao Kim Hourn will have meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other dignitaries in Delhi. He will also deliver the Sapru House Lecture organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on the theme “The ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the Evolving Regional Architecture,” according to a press release from MEA.
Furthermore, he is scheduled to visit the Mahabodhi Temple Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Gaya. He will deliver a speech on “The Future of ASEAN: ASEAN’s Relevance and Resilience in the Evolving Strategic Environment” at Nalanda University in Rajgir.
According to MEA, students from ASEAN Member States pursue higher education at Nalanda University under ASEAN-India cooperation projects. The university also leads the ASEAN-India Network of Universities (AINU).
MEA emphasized, “Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India’s Act East Policy, which is now in its 10th year in 2024, as well as its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific. In 2022, ASEAN-India relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”
It added, “India firmly supports ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). India also supports the priorities set by Lao PDR in its ASEAN Chairmanship for the year 2024 under the theme ‘ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience’.”
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