ASEAN

ASEAN leaders begin 20th summit in Phnom Penh

Tuesday 3rd of April 2012

PHNOM PENH, April 3 (PIA) -– The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began today, Tuesday, the two-day 20th annual summit at the Peace Palace here, with the results of the Myanmar by-elections and ongoing efforts by the bloc to achieve an EU-like community by 2015 expected to be on top of the agenda.

President Benigno S. Aquino III, who arrived here late Monday, has said he would take the opportunity to bring to the table the “the readiness of the Philippines and its people to engage the members of ASEAN in its endeavors such as the implementation of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, the fight against drugs, and disaster risk reduction and management.”

He also said he would push for the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to ensure peace and stability in the West Philippines Sea.

After the opening ceremonies, the leaders of the 10-member association will hold a plenary session before breaking up for lunch.

They will convene again in the afternoon for a series of meetings with representatives of ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly members, civil society organizations, and youth representatives.

In the evening, the ASEAN leaders will have a royal audience with Cambodian King Norodom Shihamoni at the Royal Palace where a royal state banquet is also scheduled for them.

On April 4, the ASEAN leaders will hold its annual Summit retreat where issues and other concerns which was not part of the formal agenda can be raised and discussed.

The Summit will then have a concluding session which will end at noon which will followed by a press conference by Cambodian Prime Minister and ASEAN chair Hun Sen.

Founded in 1967, the ASEAN is now composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. (Virgilio DC Galvez)