Prime Minister to Attend ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits in Manila; Quad Leaders' Meeting Also Likely
The Prime Minister of India will visit Manila, Philippines, from 16 to 18 November 2026. The Philippines holds the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2026.
He will attend the 23rd ASEAN-India Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit (EAS), which brings together leaders of 19 countries, including the United States.
A Quad leaders' meeting (India, the US, Japan and Australia) is likely on 17 November, hosted by the US in Manila, though India has not officially confirmed it. It would be the first Quad leaders' meeting in about two years.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the agenda includes maritime domain awareness (knowing what is happening at sea), maritime surveillance, digital public infrastructure and trade.
India-ASEAN trade is about US$ 122 billion, roughly 10% of India's global trade. India's trade deficit with ASEAN grew from US$ 7.5 billion (2011) to US$ 44 billion (2023). The review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) is still not complete.
On Myanmar, the MEA said isolating the country is not the right approach, because another power could fill the vacuum. Myanmar's leaders have been barred from ASEAN leaders' summits since the February 2021 military takeover and civil war.
Act East Policy
The Act East Policy is India's plan to build strong ties with the countries to its east: Southeast Asia (especially ASEAN), East Asia (like Japan and South Korea) and the wider Indo-Pacific. It grew out of the Look East Policy of the early 1990s, which focused mainly on trade. Act East adds security, connectivity and people-to-people ties, and puts more stress on action than on words.
The 23rd ASEAN-India Summit is the main yearly meeting under the Act East Policy. The focus on maritime awareness, digital public infrastructure and trade, and India's stand on Myanmar, all reflect Act East priorities.
East Asia Summit (EAS)
The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a yearly meeting of the top leaders of countries in the Indo-Pacific region. It is led by ASEAN: it always meets alongside the ASEAN summit, and ASEAN's chair country hosts it. Leaders use it to discuss big strategic issues like maritime security, terrorism, energy and disasters.
The Prime Minister will attend the 21st EAS in Manila, hosted by the Philippines as ASEAN chair for 2026. It is one of the few meetings where leaders of the US, China, Russia, Japan and India all sit at the same table.
The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue)
The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is a group of four democracies: India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The four countries meet regularly to work for a "free, open and inclusive" Indo-Pacific. It is not a military alliance: there is no promise to defend one another in war.
A Quad leaders' meeting in Manila would be the first in about two years. Holding it on the sidelines of the ASEAN-led summits mirrors 2017, when the Quad was revived in Manila.
ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA)
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) is a trade deal between India and the ASEAN countries that cuts or removes import taxes (tariffs) on most goods traded between them. It covers only goods, not services or investment, which are covered by separate agreements.
Trade is on the summit agenda, but the MEA did not commit to finishing the AITIGA review during the visit, calling it complex. A fairer, updated AITIGA is India's main economic demand from ASEAN.
- Visit: Manila, Philippines, 16-18 November 2026
- 23rd ASEAN-India Summit; 21st East Asia Summit (19 countries)
- Philippines: ASEAN chair for 2026
- Possible Quad leaders' meeting: 17 November 2026; last leaders' summit was in Wilmington, US (September 2024)
- India-ASEAN trade: about US$ 122 billion (about 10% of India's global trade)
- India's trade deficit with ASEAN: US$ 7.5 billion (2011) to US$ 44 billion (2023)
- AITIGA: signed 2009, in force from 2010; review under way since 2023
- ASEAN has 11 members after Timor-Leste joined in October 2025
- Myanmar's leaders barred from ASEAN summits since the February 2021 coup; ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar