The three-day event will see 11 major meetings, including the 17^th ASEAN Summit, the regular ASEAN+1 Summit with partners, such as including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and India, as well as with Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the United Nations; the ASEAN+3 Summit (with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea), and the fifth East Asia Summit.

The summit will be attended by 18 leaders of ASEAN member countries and the bloc’s partners plus the United Nations Secretary General. For the first time, the Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State will also attend the East Asia Summit as special guests.

At these summits, ASEAN and its partners will discuss ways of developing each country and for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world.

ASEAN 17- the last ASEAN summit in 2010, will build on previous achievements and the theme of ‘Toward an ASEAN community – from vision to action’.

ASEAN leaders will discuss measures to accelerate the creation of an ASEAN community, strengthen regional connections and implement the ASEAN Charter.

The summit will discuss how to cement ties between ASEAN and its partners. It will also discuss and work out measures to raise the bloc’s capacity to cope with emerging challenges such as post-economic crisis recovery, sustainable development, climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, and environmental degradation.

At other related meetings, they will mull over practical measures to maintain the ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in which ASEAN plays a central role. Especially, at the EAS summit as ASEAN leaders will officially invite Russia and the US to take part from 2011.

More than 30 documents and important declarations will be adopted at the 17^th ASEAN Summit, namely a declaration on developing human resources, skills for economic recovery, sustainable development, the Hanoi declaration on improving social welfare and developing women and children, the ASEAN-China declaration on sustainable development and the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Strategic Partnership Action Programme.

As Chair of ASEAN and host of ASEAN summits, Vietnam has finalised all preparations for this major event. Vietnam has proposed several initiatives related to economic development and human resources in the region, which were praised by ASEAN member countries.

The 17^th Summit will be attended by senior ASEAN leaders and also Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior leaders from partner countries.

This shows that the 17^th ASEAN Summit is an important forum, which has a far-reaching effect in the region. It is also the international community’s appreciation of the active role played by Vietnam in the region.

It provides a firm foundation for ASEAN and its partners to put confidence in the 17^th Summit, thus accelerating the formation of an ASEAN community by 2015. For Vietnam, a good outcome from this event is an indication of its success as Chair of ASEAN in 2010. For ASEAN, the 17^th ASEAN Summit and related meetings will lay an important foundation for a dynamic and sustainable ASEAN community.