New Delhi [India], November 18 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Vientiane, Lao PDR from November 20-22, to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).
He will also address the forum on Regional and International Security Issues during the meeting, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release.
On the sidelines of the 11th ADMM-Plus meeting, the Defence Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with participating counterparts from Australia, China, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Korea and the US, according to the Ministry of Defence.
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," the release stated.
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 between ASEAN and the Plus countries. Lao PDR is the chair and host of the 11th ADMM-Plus.
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