India Announces To Double Scholarships For ASEAN Students At Nalanda University

PM Modi emphasised the significance of the East Asia Summit, expressing India's commitment to strengthen it and recalling support for the revival of Nalanda University.

New Delhi:Reiterating the importance of the East Asia Summit mechanism and reaffirming India’s support to further strengthen it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday recalled support received from EAS Participating Countries on the revival of Nalanda University.

India also decided to nearly double the scholarships for ASEAN students at Nalanda University. India's push for the revival of Nalanda University is part of a broader effort to reclaim and promote its historical legacy as a centre of learning. The Indian government has taken several steps to enhance the university's status and capabilities. The government has provided financial backing and infrastructure development to establish Nalanda as a premier institution for higher education.

By fostering collaborations with universities worldwide, India aims to attract global scholars and students, enhancing the university's academic environment. The university emphasises research in various fields, aligning with national goals for innovation and knowledge creation.

Reviving Nalanda is seen as a way to promote India’s rich educational history, attracting attention from both scholars and tourists. The revival of Nalanda University reflects India’s commitment to enhancing its educational landscape and reaffirming its historical significance in the global knowledge economy.

In his address at the East Asia Summit in Lao, PM Modi stressed ASEAN's central role in the Indo-Pacific regional architecture, in India’s Indo-Pacific Vision and in Quad cooperation. He underlined that India’s participation in the East Asia Summit was an important pillar of its Act East Policy.

Noting that a free open, inclusive, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific was important for peace and development in the region, he spoke of the similarity and common approach between India’s Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative and ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific. He emphasised that the region should pursue a development-based approach rather than one pivoted on expansionism.

The leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues affecting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. Underlining the severe impact of conflicts on the Global South, the PM highlighted that the path of dialogue and diplomacy based on a humanitarian approach must be adopted for the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the world.

He further reiterated that there was no solution for them to be found on the battlefield. The Prime Minister stressed that terrorism, along with cyber and maritime challenges, posed a serious threat to global peace and security, for which countries must come together to combat them.

The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Laos for successfully hosting the East Asia Summit. He conveyed his good wishes to Malaysia as the new Chair of ASEAN and expressed India’s full support for it. The PM took this opportunity to invite the EAS countries for a Heads of Higher Education Conclave to be held at Nalanda University.