The meetings come ahead of the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit which will be attended by Prime Minister Modi
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Jakarta on Wednesday (September 6, 2023). They met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit. 
 
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the East Asia Summit and G20 issues in addition to bilateral cooperation. 
 
“Good to meet FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia in Jakarta on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit. Useful stocktaking of our bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Discussed East Asia Summit and G20 issues," EAM Jaishankar wrote in a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
 
Incidentally, Foreign Minister Lavrov will represent Russia at the G20 Summit being held in New Delhi on September 9-10, 2023. 
 
EAM Jaishankar also met Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi as he arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday. The meeting with his Indonesia counterpart was focused on the East Asia Summit and G20 summit which is being hosted by India.
 
“Arrived in Jakarta to attend ASEAN Summit-related meetings. Delighted to meet my friend @Menlu_RI again. Our discussions focused on the East Asia Summit and the G20 Summit.”
 
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to travel to Indonesia to attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) on Thursday (September 7, 2023). He will be in Jakarta at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
 
The Indian Prime Minister will participate in the ASEAN-India summit along with Heads of State/Government of the ASEAN member states. 
 
During the summit, Prime Minister Modi will review the progress in ASEAN-India relations and provide them with further direction. "India's relations with ASEAN are a central pillar of our Act East policy, as well as of India's vision of the wider Indo-Pacific," Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs Saurabh Kumar said at a special media briefing on Tuesday (September 5, 2023).
 
He added that the meet would be special since it would be the first one after the elevation of India-ASEAN relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. This will be the 9th ASEAN-India Summit to be attended by Prime Minister Modi.
 
India and ASEAN have a comprehensive engagement covering a wide array of areas at all levels, including seven ministerial engagements besides several official level ones. India and ASEAN share similar vision for the Indo-Pacific and are committed to building on the synergy between ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, Secretary Kumar said.
 
The East Asia summit, on the other hand, brings together at the leadership level, ASEAN members and eight dialogue partners - Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States.
 
The East Asia Summit is the foremost of the ASEAN-centred mechanisms in the Indo-Pacific. "Since its inception in 2005, it has played a significant role in providing a platform for dialogue and discussion on matters of strategic importance to the region," Secretary (East) Kumar noted.
 
India as the founding member of the East Asia Summit has been committed to strengthening the mechanism and making it more effective to deal with contemporary challenges, he added.