Hosting Of ASEAN Summit A Leap Forward For Malaysia - Minister

From Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah BANDUNG (Indonesia), April 25 (Bernama) -- The hosting of the 26th edition of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi is a huge leap forward for Malaysia, according to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek. He said as the host, Malaysia would definitely be on the front line of the ASEAN bloc, which eventually would benefit the people. The two-day Summit, which will begin on Sunday, is a very significant event because not only Malaysia is the Chair of ASEAN, but the year 2015 will also see the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), he said. The minister said this after attending the ministerial meeting in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference Commemoration (AACC) in Jakarta, Thursday. Ahmad Shabery, who accompanied Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in the Historical Walk, the highlight of the anniversary celebration earlier on Friday, said the establishment of the AEC was aimed at enhancing economic cooperation among ASEAN member countries, just like the European Union. He said this would involve the way ASEAN countries trade and interact with one another and understand each other's socio-culture elements. "ASEAN is not only a huge market with over 600 million people, but also an asset to be reckoned with. "However, if we fail to cooperate or understand each other, it will not become an asset," he said. As such, Ahmad Shabery said Malaysians should view positively the impacts of the ASEAN Summit to be held in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi this weekend. The high-level Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) meeting kicked off Friday, setting the groundwork for the two-day Summit. --BERNAMA