Rajnath Singh to attend 11^th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus in Lao PDR

• To address the forum on Regional & International Security Issues

• Defence Minister likely to hold a series of bilateral meetings, including with his US & Chinese counterparts, on the sidelines

New Delhi, November 18. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Vientiane, Lao PDR from November 20-22, 2024 to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus). He will address the forum on Regional and International Security Issues during the meeting.

On the sidelines of 11^th ADMM-Plus, Defence Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with participating counterparts from USA, China, Australia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines and Republic of Korea. These meetings are aimed at further enhancing bilateral defence cooperation with these countries.

ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, 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 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries. Lao PDR is the chair and host of 11^th ADMM-Plus.