Written by Yanitha Meena Louis

In the lead-up to the much-awaited 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, the announcement from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that PM Narendra Modi would be attending the meet virtually was perplexing. Given PM Modi’s track record of attending most ASEAN-India Summits since he assumed office in 2014, observers, even at the start of the year, would have said that his physical attendance was never in doubt. While some quarters still contend that his virtual participation is just as impactful given the circumstances, PM Modi’s physical presence carries enough symbolic heft to leave a void when he chose not to travel to Kuala Lumpur.

PM Modi’s trip to Kuala Lumpur was supposed to, in many ways, solidify the progress made in Malaysia–India ties — especi

See Full Page