East Asia Summit : PM Focused for free & open Indo-Pacific

India is focused on a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and the principle of the centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an annual summit of 18 regional nations. In a virtual address at the 16th East Asia Summit (EAS), Modi also reaffirmed India’s focus on a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and support for ASEAN’s centrality in the region. He reiterated India’s commitment to providing vaccines sponsored by the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad to Indo-Pacific countries, and recalled India’s support of $1 million to the ASEAN Covid-19 Recovery Fund. PM also highlighted India’s efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccines and medical supplies besides speaking about the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign for post-pandemic recovery and ensuring resilient global value chains. He Also emphasised on the establishment of a better balance between economy and ecology and climate sustainable lifestyle.The East Asia Summit was joined by the leaders of ASEAN states and other participating countries such as Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US.