On the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Laos, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with ASEAN leaders. Mr. Modi held a bilateral meeting with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba. During the meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership through enhanced cooperation in a wide range of areas. This includes trade and investment, infrastructure development, defence and security, semiconductors, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Both leaders also emphasized that India and Japan are indispensable partners for a peaceful, safe, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region and renewed their commitment to working together to achieve this goal. Mr. Modi underscored that India will continue to accord the highest priority to its ties with Japan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon. This was the first meeting between the two leaders. The two Prime Ministers discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation across a range of areas, including trade and investment, defence and security, renewable energy, education, agri-tech, sports, tourism, space, and people-to-people ties. They noted that frequent high-level contacts have imparted a strong momentum to bilateral relations.