(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Leaders from ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) kicked off the 27th ASEAN Summit at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia Saturday.
Malaysia is this year's chair of the grouping of Southeast Asian countries, at a pivotal point its history as it seeks to establish an ASEAN Community by year-end. And the occasion will be marked by the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Community tomorrow.
This will be a historic achievement for ASEAN, as the establishment of the Community will pave the way for greater integration that will be buttressed by its three pillars € Economic, Political-Security, Socio-Cultural.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak opened the summit by calling on world leaders to combat terrorism, after a week of deadly attacks in Europe and Africa. "The perpetrators of these cowardly and barbaric acts do not represent any race, religion or creed, nor should we allow them to claim to do so," Najib said, commenting on terrorist attacks in Mali and Paris, that combined left more than 150 people dead.
While noting that he had initially planned to open the summit with a speech on economic integration, the prime minister said the past week's events "cast a shadow over us all." Najib added that Muslim-majority countries, such as Malaysia, had a duty to expose the lies of an "ideology propagated by these extremists that is the cause of this sadistic violence." Meanwhile, Najib said that territorial disputes in the South China Sea must be resolved diplomatically based on international law. He called for self-restraint by relevant countries not to cause tension in the region.
US President Barack Obama, an invitee to the summit, said that the disputes needed to be "resolved." "We believe economic disputes should be resolved by dialogue, not by bullying or coercion," Obama said during his speech on trade and economic integration. "The United States is working to uphold the freedom of navigation and ensure disputes in the region are resolved peacefully," Obama added, without making reference to a country or its leaders.
The summit is also expected to finalize conditions for the ASEAN Economic Community, which would witness the removal of tariff barriers and some visa restrictions. The plan is expected to come into force by the end of the year.
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