Two days before Swaraj’s visit to Thailand, the Ministry of External Affairshad said that all aspects of bilateral relations would be on the agenda, with afocus on political, defence and economic relations.
Also, the ministry highlighted that measures to enhance India’s engagement withthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would be an important aspectof the visit as Thailand will assume the role of coordinator country forIndia-ASEAN relations from mid-2018.
Swaraj will leave for Indonesia on January 5 and co-chair the fifth meeting of theIndia-Indonesia Joint Commission with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.After that she will visit Singapore from January 6-8.
Her trip aims to strengthen relations with Southeast Asian countries under NewDelhi’s “Act East” policy.-VNA