New Delhi [India], Jan 25 (NT): On the eve of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit (AICS) celebrating 25 years of India-ASEAN ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held separate bilateral talks with Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Philippines President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Modi received and welcomed the three leaders to India for their participation in the Summit.

During the meeting of Prime Minister Modi with Suu Kyi, negotiations were held on diverse issues of mutual interest and ways of further strengthening our bilateral relations, including follow up on key decisions taken during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Myanmar in September 2017.

In the meeting with Prime Minister Phuc, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the growth of bilateral ties between the two countries within the framework of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including in the fields of maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, defence, oil and gas, trade and investment.

The leaders also approved that the two agreements inked during this visit viz., on cooperation in the fields of Information & Broadcasting and on the establishment of tracking and data reception station and data processing facility in Vietnam under the ASEAN-India Space Cooperation would give a further heighten to India-Vietnam ties.

They uttered satisfaction at operationalization of the Line of Credit of USD 100 million under which L&T has been awarded a contract for the manufacture of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs). They decided that the other Line of Credit of USD 500 million be operationalised soon.

During the meeting with President Duterte, the two leaders analyzed the progress in bilateral ties and in global and regional situation since their meeting in Manila in November 2017.

It was agreed to provide further momentum to cooperation between the two countries, mainly in the field of infrastructure development.

They also decided that under India's Act East Policy and the Philippines' Build-Build-Build Programme, there are a number of areas for cooperation between private sectors of the two countries. The two leaders further witnessed the exchange of a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between Invest India and Board of Investments of the Philippines.

In all the three conferences, the visiting global political dignitaries underscored the significance of ASEAN-India relations for peace, security and socio-economic development in the Indo-Pacific expanse, and looked forward to the deliberations in the AICS. (NT)