BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Asean Leaders converge in this capital of Brunei Darussalam today for the 22nd Asean Summit to explore ways to expedite the implementation of the Asean Community formation in 2015, which includes the economic, peace, social and cultural aspects.
Brunei, the Chair of Asean from January to December 2013 and the host of the two-day summit, has chosen the theme “Our People, Our Future Together.”
The theme stresses the importance of the public role in realising the aspiration of the Asean Community and the roles of the people in Asean member states in developing cooperation in political security, economic and socio-cultural areas, according to a statement issued by the International Media Centre.
It also emphasises that this region's future depends on how the people of Asean move and cooperate so as to ensure that the development throughout the region is focused on efforts in making Asean an organisation that is unanimous in tackling global issues.
Meanwhile, the Asean leaders who will arrive today, are expected to have their first meeting tonight – a working dinner – to be held at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Malaysia, which is facing its 13th General Election, will be represented by Senate President Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang. He is leading the Malaysian delegation as a Special Representative of the Prime Minister.
The delegation comprises senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture and the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department.
Abu Zahar will attend the 22nd Asean Summit Retreat, the 9th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Phillippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit and the 7th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit, tomorrow.
A signing ceremony for the Establishment of the Centre of the IMT will also be held, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It said that the summit also serves as a platform for the Asean leaders to take stock and review their efforts in realising the Asean Community, conduct discussions on Asean’s future direction as well as exchange views on regional and international issues.
Asean leaders attending the 22nd Summit include Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Singapore Prime Minster Lee Hsien Loong, Philippine President Benigno S.Aquino, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Myanmar President U Thein Sein and the Asean Secretary-General Le Luong Minh.
This is the fourth time that Brunei Darussalam has chaired Asean, having previously been the Chair in 1989, 1995 and 2001. Following the 22nd Asean Summit, Brunei will host the 23rd Asean Summit and other related summits on Oct 9-10.
Asean, comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand, has a total population of some 600 million people, which is about 8.8 percent of the world's population. -- BERNAMA
