New Delhi, March 16 (IANS): External Affairs Minister (EAM), S Jaishankar, will embark on a three-nation tour to Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia from March 23 - 27 to strengthen bilateral relations.

The visit to the Southeast Asian nations will provide an opportunity for engagement on regional issues of mutual concern, a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) release said on Saturday.

Focused on enhancing bilateral relations, the visit comes just after EAM Jaishankar's trip to Japan to take stock of bilateral ties and explore ways to transform the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between the two countries.

Dr Jaishankar last visited Singapore in October 2023 to deepen the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, where he met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

At the invitation of Dr Jaishankar, then Malaysian Foreign Minister, Zambry Abdul Kadir, paid an official visit to India in November 2023, to co-chair the sixth India-Malaysia Joint Commission Meeting in New Delhi.

In June 2023, EAM Jaishankar and Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, Enrique A. Manalo, co-chaired the fifth meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

The two leaders held wide-ranging and substantive discussions on regional and international issues of mutual concern, according to an MEA release.

Acknowledging that both countries have a shared interest in a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, the two nations underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and adherence to international laws.