Narendra Modi leaves for Laos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday departed for Vientiane, Laos, where he will attend the 14th India-Asian Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit.

"Another one for Acting East. Flurry of bilateral and multilateral engagements await as PM departs New Delhi for Laos," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Modi is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday afternoon.

The India-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit will be attended by the leaders of 10 southeast Asian nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.

The East Asia summit will be attended by the leaders of the 10 Asean nations and those of India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.

Ahead of his visit, Modi said on Tuesday that southeast Asia was the key to the development of India's northeastern region.

"Asean is a key partner for our Act East Policy, which is vital for the economic development of our Northeastern region," Modi said in a pre-departure statement posted on his Facebook page.