Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Thailand on Saturday where he will attend the ASEAN-India, East Asia and RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summits to strengthen regional cooperation in key areas such as trade, maritime security and connectivity.

On the first day, PM Modi will address the Indian communityliving in the country and the release of a commemorative coin marking the 550thbirth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, as well as the release a Thai translationof Tamil classic 'Tirukkural', the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.OnNovember 3, PM Modi will co-chair the 16th ASEAN-India summit alongside Thai PrimeMinister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

"The ASEAN-related summits are an integral part of ourdiplomatic calendar. This will be Prime Minister Modi's seventh ASEAN-Indiasummit and sixth East Asia Summit," The MEA had said during a pressbriefing on Thursday.

The meeting will take stock of the progress made in therelationship between India and the ASEAN member countries. Several Indianinitiatives are currently implemented in this regard, such as New Delhi'scommitment to offering 1,000 PhD scholarships to ASEAN students at the IITs.

The said initiative has a budget of about Rs 300 crores andis the largest human resource initiative for ASEAN member countries by Indiaand for any of ASEAN's dialogue partner.

On the following day, PM Modi will attend a special lunchhosted by the Thai Prime Minister for the leaders of East Asian countriesparticipating in the summit.

The leaders on this platform will exchange views onprogressing the internal sustainable agenda in line with the theme chosen byThailand -- 'Advancing Partnerships for Sustainability'.

"The theme of this has been chosen by Thailand. Infact, Thailand, under its chairmanship, is promoting the themes advancingpartnerships for sustainability. So, we are also working to support this themeand contributing to the discussions that are taking place," the MEA said.

Later in the day, PM Modi will take part in the 14th EastAsia summit. The agenda of the meet would be to review the future direction ofEast Asia cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues.

Subsequently, PM Modi will take part in the RCEP summit,where the leaders of the member countries will review the state of negotiationswhich are ongoing in Bangkok currently and will continue over the next fewdays.

The free trade deal during the RCEP summit is likely tobring down import duties on most agricultural commodities to zero permanently.This deal, which is to be signed among the members of the RCEP, has receivedflak from the Indian farmers who believe that their livelihood will be hit in abig way if the deal is signed. They have even planned to stage a nationwideprotest on Saturday demanding the government to withdraw from the deal.

"There are some critical issues still outstanding andefforts are being made to resolve them to provide a fair and transparenttrading environment. These issues are extremely important for our economy andthe livelihood of our people. It is, therefore, imperative that these issuesare resolved satisfactorily. India remains engaged to find resolutions of theseissues," the MEA said.

On the sidelines of the three summits, PM Modi will holdseveral bilateral meetings as well. He will return to New Delhi on the eveningof November 4.