Early Birds Arrive at Clark for ASEAN summit

President Rodrigo Duterte, the host of the ASEAN Summit 2017

Manila, Philippines — MINA – Several world leaders started arriving Saturday for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners in Manila this week, the STAR reported.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi arrived Saturday afternoon at the Clark International Airport.

Among those who welcomed them were former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda.

Twenty leaders from ASEAN and its dialogue partners are expected to arrive this weekend for the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings.

Other ASEAN leaders who will attend the summit include Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of the Kingdom of Thailand and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam.

World leaders who will be in the country include United States President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, Premier Li Keqiang of China, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russian and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea.

European Council President Donald Tusk of the European Union and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are also expected to attend the summit.

An earlier report said that at least seven world leaders – including Trump, Li, Abe, Moon and Bolkiah – will arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Details of the world leaders’ arrivals were not disclosed for security purposes.

Many of the world leaders will fly in from Vietnam where they gathered for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

President Duterte was among those who attended the APEC summit, where he met with Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Both Xi and Putin will miss this year’s East Asia Summit (EAS) in Manila, which will be held on Wednesday after the ASEAN summit.

Trump earlier scheduled to leave after the ASEAN summit, but decided to extend his trip for one day to attend the EAS. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)