The 23rd Summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, ASEAN, opened this morning in the capital of Brunei-Bandar Seri Bagawan- bringing together leaders from ten member states. The theme of the summit is 'Our People, Our Future Together'.
In his opening remarks, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah said that the outlook for the ASEAN region remains promising. The Sultan called for the ASEAN countries to work together in areas like trade facilitation and logistics to promote business environment in the region. He acknowledged that the ASEAN members will face challenges in implementing their community roadmap. ASEAN nations should ensure the region's financial stability as well as being an effective and competitive destination for trade and investment, he added.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will head the US team.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will arrive in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, this evening. He will attend the 11th India-ASEAN Summit and the 8th East Asia summit tomorrow. India is one of the ASEAN dialogue partners, alongside Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States. Our Correspondent reports that Dr. Singh will also have a bilateral meeting with the Australian Prime Minister.He adds that the 11th India-ASEAN Summit will be held against the backdrop of ASEAN integration towards an ASEAN community by 2015. India supports the ASEAN community building efforts. Under the political-security pillar of cooperation, both sides have begun discussions on transnational crime and drug trafficking. India has proposed an MOU on the establishment of the Nalanda University. The process of signing the MOU is likely to begin during the summit. Meanwhile, the 23rd ASEAN summit and related Summits began in Bandar Seri Begawan amid tight security today.