23rd ASEAN Summit Kicks off in Brunei

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, October 9 (TNA) - A two-day 23rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit opened in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei Darussalam, on Wednesday, allowing government leaders of the grouping to exchange views on key regional and international issues as well as with their Dialogue Partners. Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to display her visions on ASEAN after 2015, the year when its 10-member countries implement the ASEAN Economic Community, on how they could pool ideas to help ASEAN further develops on a sustainable basis. According to a statement issued by the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry, major issues to be discussed at the 23rd ASEAN Summit include implementation of the Blueprints of the three pillars and the Master Plan on ASEAN connectivity, cooperation among ASEAN on poverty reduction and public health care by 2015, and cooperation in tackling trans-boundary issues such as disaster mitigation, haze as well as water management which is a primary element in ensuring food security. ASEAN government leaders are also scheduled to confer on regional and international issues including cooperation in the South China Sea, notably dispute settlement mechanism to promote peace and stability in Southeast Asia region, the statement said. ASEAN government leaders are scheduled to attend meetings with key Dialogue Partners such as Japan, China, the United States and South Korea on Wednesday. Prime Minister Yingluck is due later in the day confer with Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on bilateral relations on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting and attend a dinner to be hosted by Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah. (TNA)