Gov’t bares preparations for 31st ASEAN Summit

TWENTY-ONE heads of state are expected to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits to be held on Nov. 10-15, with the Philippines hosting this year.

The Southeast Asian region marks its 31st summit but also 50 years as an organization.

“We will have one guest of chair and that’s Timor Leste. So that’s 10 ASEAN member-states, eight members of the East Asia Summit, and two others who are celebrating the 40th anniversary of ASEAN collaboration and that is ASEAN-EU (European Union) and ASEAN-Canada,” Director-General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr. of the ASEAN 2017 National Organizing Committee said in a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

But apart from the 21 heads of state, US President Donald J. Trump and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also take part in this gathering.

“Thus far, we have not had any indication of anyone not coming. So as long as they have not indicated that they are not coming, we assume that they are,” Mr. Paynor said.

He added that these world leaders had requested bilateral meetings with Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, but declined to name them, for now.

Last week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said Messrs. Duterte and Trump will hold bilateral talks either in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2017 in Vietnam or in the ASEAN Summit here.

ASEAN’s dialogue partners include Australia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States.

“In the case of the President, I do know that there are already two bilateral meetings within the meeting proper itself,” Mr. Paynor said, but again declined to give further details.

With only 16 days left before the ASEAN Summit, the country is “more or less prepared” with the arrival of world leaders, he said.

“So thus far, I can say that we are more or less prepared and we are ready to accept and meet up all of the various heads of government, heads of state, who are coming in,” Mr. Paynor said.

Part of the preparation was Mr. Duterte’s declaration of a special holiday in Metro Manila, Bulacan and Pampanga on Nov. 13-15.

Mr. Paynor said the main summit will be held in Manila, while preparatory meetings will be held in Clark, Pampanga.

“All arrivals and departures, in principle, will be at Clark Airport. This is on the directive of the President that no commercial traffic must be affected at the Manila International Airport,” Mr. Paynor said.