New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI) Defence Minster Rajnath Singh will be on an official visit to Vientiane, Lao PDR, to attend the three-day ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) from November Wendesday.
He will address the forum on regional and international security issues during the meeting, an official statement said.
On the sidelines of 11th ADMM-Plus, Singh is expected to hold bilateral meetings with participating counterparts from USA, China, Australia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines and Republic of Korea.
These meetings are aimed at further enhancing bilateral defence cooperation with these countries.
ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN.
ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its eight dialogue partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation.
India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries. Lao PDR is the chair and host of 11th ADMM-Plus.
