#26th ASEAN summit concludes with adoption of three declarations

ASEAN adopted three documents including the 'Kuala Lumpur Declaration on a People-Oriented, People-Centred ASEAN' as the 26th ASEAN Summit presided over by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak came to a close here on Monday.

Two other documents adopted were the 'Langkawi Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates', and the 'Declaration on Institutionalising the Resilience of ASEAN and its Communities and People to Disasters and Climate Change'.

The gathering of the 10-member grouping officially opened at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) this morning before regional leaders converged on the island of Langkawi in northern Peninsular Malaysia for the retreat and closing sessions.

"I believe we have had some very useful and positive discussions and have made good headway in working together to make a People-Centred ASEAN a reality," Najib said when closing the April 26-27 summit at the Langkawi International Convention Centre (LICC).

He noted that as a result of extensive discussions today, it was clear that ASEAN was making strong progress towards the establishment of the ASEAN Community by year-end.

ASEAN, Najib said, must ensure that every effort was expended in pursuit of that goal.

"The rewards for all our people are too great for us not to seize this opportunity wholeheartedly," the prime minister said.

The ASEAN Community involves a plan to create a common economic, political-security and socio-cultural region.

"After hearing all that you have had to say, I feel certain that you share my conviction that this is ASEAN's time, and that we will act to make the most of our region's tremendous potential," Najib told the audience gathered at the closing session of the summit.

Southeast Asian leaders who attended the fourth ASEAN Summit chaired by Malaysia were Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong of Laos, Myanmar's President U Thein Sein, Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha of Thailand and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam.

For the Langkawi segment of the summit, Indonesia was represented by Vice-President Jusuf Kalla.

The ASEAN heads of state and government also took note of six reports prepared for the summit, namely the Report of the Secretary-General of ASEAN on the Work of ASEAN; Report of the APSC (ASEAN Political-Security Community) Council to the 26th ASEAN Summit; and Report of the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community) Council to the 26th ASEAN Summit.

The other three were the Report of the ASCC (ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community) Council to the 26th ASEAN Summit; the Report of the Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation; and finally the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Report to ASEAN Leaders.

Malaysia had previously hosted the ASEAN Summits of 1977, 1997 and 2005.