CLARK FREEPORT ZONE — A total of 11 leaders of ASEAN member-states and dialogue partners arrived in Clark International Airport over the weekend.
Among the member-states who were given a festive welcome by approximately 1,400 students include Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Lao PDR Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Moreover, the dialogue-partners who arrived in Clark were Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
They will participate in the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Metro Manila, which begins tomorrow.
The agenda of the summit will cover political and security, economic, and socio-cultural matters which ASEAN would like to address in order to bring about inclusive, sustainable, and equitable development for all peoples of the ASEAN Community.
“With five decades of its own history and a long track record of cooperation with its partners, commemorative summits will be held during the two-day summit including the 40th anniversaries Commemorative Summits with the United States, Canada, and the European Union. An anticipated highlight of the summit is a meeting of the ASEAN Leaders and their counterparts from countries participating in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations,” ASEAN said in a press statement.
During this Summit, the leaders will take up issues such as the rise of radicalization and violent extremism, global and regional economic outlook, economic integration, women empowerment, migrant workers, malnutrition, climate change, youth, and poverty.
The ASEAN Leaders are expected to adopt a number of declarations and statements that will provide impetus for national and regional actions meant to address these issues.
They are also scheduled to meet with the region’s industry leaders representing the ASEAN Business Advisory Council. There will also be a meeting with the business community from East Asia. (CLJD-PIA 3)Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu