By Joyce Rocamora | Philippine News Agency
The Philippines will host at least 19 world and global institutional leaders at the upcoming 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits this week.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said the attendance underscores ASEAN’s “unique convening power and continued role as a platform for dialogue and cooperation” with the wider international community.
The high-level engagements will commence on Nov. 15 with the summit opening ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), followed by the Plenary and Retreat Sessions, where ASEAN leaders will take stock of the Philippines’ chairship achievements.
The ASEAN leaders will then discuss ways to strengthen ASEAN’s collective capacity to address emerging regional and global challenges, including the situation in Myanmar.
The leaders will also have interface meetings with ASEAN Parliamentarians, the business community and the youth.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who chairs the summit, will be joined by the leaders of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.
Myanmar will be represented by the Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department of its Foreign Ministry.
The plenary will also feature remarks from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
The DFA said their participation highlights the value of ASEAN’s engagement with key global partners in pushing for regional economic resilience and is well-aligned with the Philippines’ chairship priorities, particularly under its Prosperity Corridors.
The Related Summits, or the Plus One Summits, will follow on Nov. 16 to 17, and will be co-chaired by the leaders of Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.
New Zealand will be represented by its Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Seymour, while Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
President Marcos Jr. will also convene the 29th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit (EAS) on Nov. 17, the premier Leaders-led forum for dialogue and cooperation on strategic, political and economic issues of common concern and interest in the region.
He will later hand over the ASEAN Chairship to Singapore.
The day will culminate with the ASEAN-United States Special Summit to be attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“As the Philippines brings together ASEAN Leaders and Dialogue Partners from across the region and the wider international community, the country looks forward to engagements that will reinforce the value of dialogue, deepen partnerships, and strengthen collective responses to shared challenges,” the DFA said.
“The Philippines remains committed to advancing an ASEAN that is peaceful, resilient, and future-ready, with regional cooperation translating into meaningful benefits for its peoples,” it added.
