Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make two big reach-outs to the people of Indian origin residing in Malaysia and Singapore, during his upcoming visits between November 21 and 24. The visit to Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur will be focused on the India-ASEAN and the East Asian Summits but the public reception of the visiting Prime Minister, especially in Kuala Lumpur, is going to be quite extensive with both the Indian mission and the local organisers putting up a big show of the Indian diaspora’s power in Malaysia. The reception in Singapore will be on November 24 evening and will be the grand finale of the trip before Mr.Modi returns to India.
The biggest public reception in Kuala Lumpur is planned to be in the MIECC (Malaysia International Exhibition and Convention Centre) in the evening of November 22. That apart, there are meetings between prominent Indian citizens in Malaysia and Mr.Modi. A separate event is also planned at the Ramakrishna Ashram in the city where a statue of Swamy Vivekananda will be unveiled by the Prime Minister.
The mainstream diplomatic focus of the trip in Malaysia will be on the 13th India-ASEAN Summit and also the 10th East Asia Summit which is on November 21 and 22. This is the second time that Mr. Modi will be meeting the leaders of the ASEAN and the East Asia Summit countries within a year of his last similar meeting in the Myanmar capital of Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014.
Official sources said that Mr.Modi was scheduled to have separate or pull aside meetings with South Korean and Chinese leaders during the East Asia summit. There could also be one more Modi-Obama meeting in Kuala Lumpur, their second in a fortnight after the G-20 meetings. India is expected to reinforce its natural presence in the ASEAN region with the outreach programmes and receptions for Mr.Modi.
The high point of Mr.Modi’s visit to Singapore is expected to be the declaration of a strategic partnership between India and Singapore, said Secretary (East) Anil Wadhwa. The official agenda of the visit was firmed up during the visit of Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s to New Delhi on October 13. Another event, which will appeal to the people back home, will be the Prime Minister’s visit to the INA Monument in Singapore, which is a memorial to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Despite reported difficulties in the plan for a public reception in Singapore, diplomatic sources told The Hindu that the reception for the Prime Minister was on track in Singapore.
