New Delhi: Prime Minister arendra Modi on Friday invited the East Asia Summit countries for the first-ever ‘Heads of Higher Education Conclave’ to be held at Nalanda University in Bihar.
The Prime Minister extended the invitation during the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS) at Vientiane, the capital of Lao People’s
Democratic Republic.
“Reiterating the importance of the EAS mechanism and reaffirming India’s support to further strengthen it, the PM recalled support received from EAS Participating Countries on the revival of Nalanda University. The PM took this opportunity to invite the EAS countries for a Heads of Higher Education Conclave to be held at Nalanda University,” an official statement read.
The statement did not mention the date of the conclave.
The EAS has 18 members – the 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
Modi had in June inaugurated the new campus of Nalanda University at Rajgir in Bihar. The university is conceived as a collaboration between India and the EAS countries. Several eminent people including the heads of missions of 17 countries attended the inauguration ceremony.
Modi arrived in Laos on a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits and further deepen engagement with countries in the groupings.
Also, Modi and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos, almost a year after his Canadian counterpart accused India of involvement in the death of a Canadian Khalistani separatist.
The CBC News on Friday said Trudeau described the meeting as a “brief exchange” when the two leaders met during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos held on Thursday. “I emphasised that there is work that we need to do,” the CBC News quoted Trudeau as saying.
Modi also met his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra and discussed ways to improve trade ties and boost cultural linkages between the two nations.