20th ASEAN Summit adopts four outcome documents

The two-day 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit concluded here on Wednesday, promoting the target of ASEAN Community Building by 2015 a step forward, according to Xinhua.

Under the theme "ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny", the summit adopted four outcome documents, namely the Phnom Penh Agenda on ASEAN Community Building, the Phnom Penh Declaration on "ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny", the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Drug-Free ASEAN 2015 and the Global Movement of Moderates.

Besides reviewing ASEAN's major achievements in the past years in celebration of the bloc's 45th anniversary, the summit also discussed the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Charter and Roadmap for an ASEAN Community, ASEAN connectivity, the establishment of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, and exchanged views on regional and international issues.

According to the Phnom Penh agenda, which spelled out ASEAN's priorities for 2012, the bloc will put emphasis on strengthening the mechanism for ensuring financial stability in the region, narrowing development gaps among group members, expanding ASEAN Infrastructure Fund, protecting the rights of migrant workers, enhancing the ability of disaster management and boosting cooperation in the agriculture sector.

The Cambodian Prime Minister H.E. Hun Sen said in the closing remarks Wednesday that progress was notably on forming of legal instruments for interpreting the ASEAN plan and Master Plan on Connectivity. "These are essential to ensure that ASEAN is on track to meet its integration goal".

ASEAN leaders will continue working towards building the community into a "great and close family with harmony, security, economy and social cultures based on the rules and laws," Hun said.

The ASEAN, established in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.