Rajnath Singh to visit Malaysia for ASEAN Defence Ministers' meeting

New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a visit to Malaysia on Thursday to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) scheduled to be held on November 1.

Taking to X, Singh said, “Today, 30th October, I shall be leaving New Delhi for Kuala Lumpur. I would be taking part in this year’s ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting - Plus (ADMM-Plus) being held in Malaysia on 01st November. I shall be addressing the forum on ‘Reflection on 15 years of ADMM-Plus and Charting the Way Forward’.”

He added that on the sidelines of ADMM-Plus, the second edition of ASEAN-India Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting, under the chairmanship of Malaysia, will be held on Friday, where Defence Ministers from all ASEAN member countries will take part.

“The meeting aims to further strengthen defence and security cooperation among ASEAN member states and India and advance the ‘Act East Policy’. I look forward to holding discussions with the participating ADMM-Plus nations on greater cooperation in a wide range of areas, as well as the senior leadership from Malaysia,” Singh stressed.

According to the Ministry of Defence, during the two-day visit, Singh is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the participating ADMM-Plus nations as well as the senior leadership from Malaysia.

ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam and its eight dialogue partners, comprising India, the 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, while the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus has been held annually to bolster defence cooperation among ASEAN and plus countries.

Under the construct of ADMM-Plus, India is the co-chair of the Experts Working Group on Counter Terrorism with Malaysia for the cycle 2024-2027. The second edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is also scheduled in 2026.

--IANS

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