The 17th ASEAN summit opened in Hanoi today with participation of leaders of 10 member-states and bloc’s General Secretary Surin Pitsuwan.
Continuing spirit of the topic “Towards an ASEAN community from vision to action” and priority in 2010, the 17th summit focuses on revaluing achievement of ASEAN cooperation in 2010 and make plans for next year.
The summit will discuss building the ASEAN Community, deploying ASEAN Charter, external affairs and the central role of ASEAN in the regional cooperation process, sustainable development and ways to deal with global challenges.
The 17th summit is the second summit as Vietnam chairs the ASEAN in 2010 and is the most important event of the year.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung announced that under the overarching theme of “Towards the ASEAN Community: From vision to action,” ASEAN has in the past year been undertaking many concrete activities that bring about significant outcomes in the realization of the set goals and plans.
The ASEAN Charter, said Mr. Dũng, has truly been brought to life with the smooth operation of the new organizational structure as well as the finalization of related legal documents, thus creating the legal basis and institutional framework for the ASEAN Community and deeper regional integration.
He added that the 17th ASEAN Summit and related Summits provide an opportunity for ASEAN to take stock of the implementation of agreements and to find appropriate solutions to further accelerate the course of building the ASEAN Community, strengthen ASEAN’s external relations and enhance our international role and position.
On the sideline of the meeting a series of summits will also be held such as ASEAN+1, ASEAN +3, ASEAN-UN, Mekong-Japan and East Asia.
The summits have attracted over 2,000 delegates from ASEAN embers and its partners, 1,000 domestic and international reporters.
On the occasion of participation in the summits, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Philippines President Benigno Aquino, Russian President Dmitry Mevedev, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan have paid state and official visits to Vietnam.
