Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend virtually the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur, his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday.

Hours later, Modi confirmed in a social media post that he will join the ASEAN-India Summit virtually.

The event is scheduled for October 26 to October 28, alongside the East Asia summit.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the meetings, PTI reported.

India is not a member of the ASEAN but has a comprehensive strategic partnership with the grouping. However, India is a member of the East Asia region forum.

The expected participation of United States President Donald Trump had led to speculation that a bilateral meeting between him and Modi would be on the cards.

This would have been the first meeting between Modi and Trump since diplomatic tensions erupted between New Delhi and Washington, mainly because the US president imposed so-called reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods and punitive levies for purchasing Russian oil amid Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The two countries are negotiating a trade deal.

Trump has also repeatedly claimed credit for brokering the ceasefire between India and Pakistan following the four-day conflict in May. New Delhi has rejected the claims and maintained that the ceasefire was not the result of mediation.

On Thursday, Ibrahim said on social media that Modi informed him that he will not participate in the event in person because of Diwali celebrations.

India’s external affairs ministry has not yet commented on Modi’s participation in the summit.

The Malaysian prime minister said that in a phone conversation with Modi, the two had discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral relations to a “more strategic and comprehensive level”.

“India remains an important partner for Malaysia in the fields of trade and investment, in addition to close cooperation in the sectors of technology, education and regional security,” Ibrahim said.

Modi had attended the ASEAN summits in person in 2023 and 2024.

On October 13, Modi skipped the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh. He had reportedly received a last-minute invitation from Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to attend the summit.

India was represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.

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