Jakarta [Indonesia], August 28 (ANI): Minister of State for External Affairs and Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who is on an official visit to Indonesia, interacted with the Indian community on Sunday evening and expressed his gratitude for their warmth.

Taking to Twitter, the MoS wrote "Had the pleasure to interact with Indian Diaspora in Jakarta this evening. Gratitude to the Indian community for their warmth and affection," as he hailed the bilateral ties between India and Indonesia.

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Rajkumar Ranjan Singh is on an official visit to Indonesia to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat from August 28-29.

This is his first visit to ASEAN Secretariat and Indonesia. During the visit, in addition to engagements with ASEAN Secretariat, the MoS will also have engagements with several officials to strengthen bilateral relations.

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During his visit, he will inaugurate the ASEAN-India Network of University (AINU) along with the Secretary General of ASEAN, ASEAN-India relations, while commemorating the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. AINU was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in 2018, as a consortium of premier institutes from India and ASEAN that would build a core network of knowledge capital through partnerships among academic and research institutions in India and ASEAN member states.

AINU is being implemented by Nalanda University and ASEAN University Network from India and ASEAN, respectively.

He will also hold discussions with ASEAN on strengthening ASEAN-India relations including enhancing educational and people-to-people connectivity, forging institutional linkages and taking forward the ASEAN-India Partnership as we enter into the fourth decade of this partnership, added the release.

The ASEAN is a regional organization which was established to promote political and social stability amid rising tensions among the Asia-Pacific's post-colonial states.

India-ASEAN relations can be traced to historical and cultural relations. Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam spread from India to the region and the imprint of this shared cultural heritage is also seen in art forms and architecture. Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting' was held recently in New Delhi, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations in 2022.

The year 2022 has been designated as the 'ASEAN-India Friendship Year'. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of India's strategic cooperation with ASEAN. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)