Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Malaysia and instead will attend the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) leaders’s summit virtually.
This was disclosed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday, who received a phone call from PM Modi.
According to Ibrahim, Modi conveyed his inability to attend the summit citing Diwali celebrations at home.
Sources said that the Chhath festival on October 28 was cited as the reason, and its significance, given the upcoming Bihar elections. Bihar goes to polls on November 6, with the second phase on November 11.
This precludes any possible meeting between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump, who were widely anticipated to meet on the sidelines of the summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Sources said domestic political demands require Modi’s presence in the country. It is coincident that negotiations on bilateral trade agreement are still ongoing, and there was a sense in the government that a bilateral meeting between PM Modi and President Trump would be best when the trade deal is sealed.
