ASEAN and related summits to focus on community building efforts, cooperation with China

VIENTIANE, Sept. 6  (NsNewsWire) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related summits are scheduled here in the Lao capital on Tuesday, with the main theme of “Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community.”

Community building efforts, ASEAN’s cooperation with dialogue partners, as well as a commemorative summit of the 25th anniversary of ASEAN’s dialogue relations with China will be on the agenda of the three-day meetings, reports Xinhua.

According to the Foreign Ministry of Laos, which is holding the rotating ASEAN chairmanship, the meetings will include the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits, ASEAN+1 Summits, the Summit on Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, and South Korea) Summit, as well as the East Asia Summit.

The 28th ASEAN Summit will discuss ASEAN Community building efforts, especially the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, while the 29th ASEAN Summit will focus on ASEAN’s external relations and future direction as well as exchange of views on regional and international issues of common concern.

The ASEAN+1 Summits and ASEAN+3 Summit will review cooperation between the ten-member bloc and its dialogue partners. The East Asia Summit, a forum of leaders from 18 countries (10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States) will review and discuss future direction of cooperation as well as exchange views on regional and international issues.

ASEAN, which groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, established at the end of 2015 the ASEAN Community which comprises the Political and Security Community, the Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community.