Leaders Gathering in Singapore for ASEAN SummitsHeads of state or government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asian countries are arriving in Singapore Thursday (November 23) for summits scheduled for Friday and Saturday.Among the leaders arriving here are Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao Prime Minister Sisavath Keobounpanth, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Myanmar Prime Minister Than Shwe, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, Philippine President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, Brunei Sultan Haji Hassnal Bolkiah and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. The fourth ASEAN Informal Summit on Friday is expected to focus on topics of strengthening the regional grouping's unity and moving its integration process forward. The leaders will also discuss how to enhance their cooperation in the development of information technology so as to narrow the digital divide inside the grouping. Shortly after his arrival, Chinese Premier Zhu headed for the Istana, the presidential palace, to meet with his Singapore counterpart Goh Chok Tong. Zhu will join ASEAN leaders for the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and Korea) summit on Friday and also attend the ASEAN + China Summit on Saturday. ASEAN and East Asian leaders are expected to discuss on topics such as the future of East Asia and measures to be taken to strengthen East Asian cooperation. |
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