Indonesia, which will host the much anticipated 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) on September 6-7, has agreed to adjust the timings so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could return to New Delhi for the upcoming G20 Summit.
While addressing a special press conference on Tuesday in view of PM Modi's visit to Jakarta, the Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar said that the Indonesian side was kind enough to alter the timings of the two different summits which were scheduled for September 7.
"Indonesia was kind enough to advance the timings of the EAS so that the Prime Minister could come back early," said Kumar.
"Earlier the meeting of EAS was scheduled for the afternoon but later it was adjusted a little bit. From 9 am to 10 am, there will be an ASEAN-India Summit and after a gap of 15 minutes, the EAS meeting will be held," he added.
According to the statement released by the External Affairs Ministry, PM Modi will be in Jakarta at the invitation of the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.
Notably, his visit to the world's fourth most populous country comes ahead of the much-anticipated mega event which is slated to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 under India's Presidency this year.
Indonesia is part of the G20 'troika' as it had the presidency of the grouping last year.
Will leaders discuss the map controversy?
Further, while responding to the question of whether the recent controversy erupted following the release of the so-called "standard" map by the Chinese side, the official underscored that there are chances that the issue would be discussed during the upcoming event but added he could anticipate the outcome.
"It is difficult to anticipate what would be discussed when the leaders meet. But issues which are of mutual concerns, regional and international would come up," he added.
Earlier last week, China enraged New Delhi by incorporating India's integral regions such as Arunachal Pradesh, and Aksai Chin in their latest edition of the map released. The map released on the website and social media platforms of the state news publication, Global Times, included the disputed areas including Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin region, Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea under their territory.
It is worth mentioning China claims Arunachal Pradesh is a part of the Tibet region. This prompted India to respond aggressively. However, later, China urged India to "stay objective and calm" and desist from "over-interpreting" the issue claiming it is a "routine practice" in accordance with its law.
