Cambodia releases details of forthcoming 21st ASEAN Summit, related Summits

Cambodia on Thursday released the detailed agendas for the 21st ASEAN Summit and related Summits, to be held here on November 18-20.

Speaking at a press briefing about the upcoming Summits, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said during the 21st ASEAN Summit, the heads of the ten-country ASEAN will adopt two documents. One is the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and the other is the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Demining Center in Cambodia.

Also, there will be the launching of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation.

He said that the demining center is very important for the bloc because six out of the ten-country ASEAN have been facing landmine issues. Those are Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand.

Besides, there will be the ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, and South Korea) Summit, which will be attended by ASEAN leaders and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

"ASEAN has more than 20 dialogue countries, but the three countries (China, Japan and South Korea) are the ASEAN's closest partners with active cooperation," he said, adding that there will also be separate Summits between ASEAN and China, ASEAN and Japan, and ASEAN and South Korea.

The minister stressed that during the ASEAN+3 Summit, two documents will be adopted. One is the joint statement on the 15th anniversary of the ASEAN+3 Cooperation and the other is the ASEAN+ 3 Partnership on Connectivity.

For the ASEAN-China Summit, both sides will adopt the joint statement on the 10th anniversary of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

Also, there will be the ASEAN-India Summit and the ASEAN-US Leaders' Summit.

Hor Namhong said that the ASEAN-US Leaders' Summit will focus on strengthening and expanding cooperation between the two blocs.

The topics will include the initiative for ASEAN-US Strategic Partnership, the suggestion for regularly annual ASEAN-US Leaders' Summit and ASEAN-US Business Summit, the US's re- consideration for supporting ASEAN Connectivity, and the suggestion for the establishment of ASEAN-US Center in Washington D.C. to promote tourism, trade, and investment.

Moreover, Hor Namhong said that the United States will announce to recognize the core role of ASEAN in regional forum.

In addition, there will be the 7th East Asia Summit that focuses on six priority areas for cooperation, he said, adding that those are energy and environment, education, finance, global health issues and communicable diseases, disaster management and ASEAN connectivity.

Finally, it will be the 1st ASEAN Global Dialogue that will be attended by the heads of East Asia Summit leaders and the heads of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

It will focus on global challenges, particularly the impact of economic and financial crisis in the Europe and the United States on Asia.

Sourced: globaltimes