KUALA LUMPUR: The 27th Asean Summit and Related Summits is set to end on a historic note today when regional leaders sign landmark documents that will bring the 10-nation bloc closer to political and economic integration.
The Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the Asean Community and the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Asean 2025: Forging Ahead Together are the culmination of years of hard work across the region.
And, it is an honour for Malaysia, as Asean chairman, to see the efforts through to the finish line.
World leaders will also have several meetings today, most notably the East Asia Summit (EAS), which is marking a milestone 10th anniversary in the city of its birth.
The EAS was first held in Kuala Lumpur in 2005 and has since grown into the premier leadership-level forum to discuss political and security matters in the region, as it gather the heads of state or government from the 10 Asean nations and the eight dialogue partners.
The territorial dispute in the South China Sea will likely be raised, and the presence of United States President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will elicit much interest among regional observers.
Other world leaders present include Russian Prime Minister Dmity Medvedev, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.