Economic and security concerns listed for 12th ASEAN Leaders Summit
Iloilo City (2 November) -- Economic and security concerns are among the top agenda of the forthcoming 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit in Cebu City in December 2006.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said in a speech at the Nanchang University during her visit in China recently.
President Arroyo said that as chair of this year’s ASEAN Leaders’ Summit she has listed what must be done to further strengthen the ASEAN-China partnership.
Included in the Presidents list are the following: Promoting the the continued joint exploration of the South China Sea; Intensifying interactions such as increased trade and investment; Investing tourism; and Allocating adequate resources to steer the relations and cooperation for mutual benefits such as China providing preferential loans to support projects of Chinese companies within Asean.
This step, according to the President, should be coupled with Asean’s efforts to integrate its 11 priority sectors namely, agro-based products, air travel, automotive products, E-Asean (electronic Asean), electronics, fisheries, healthcare, rubber-based products, textiles and apparels and wood-based products.
The forthcoming ASEAN Leaders’ Summit will be attended by 16 world leaders. President Arroyo is this year’s Chair of the ASEAN Summit, which the Philippines is hosting for the second time since the regional grouping was organized in 1967. (PIA/T. Villavert) [top]
