PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III has a busy schedule ahead of him as the President and other Southeast Asian leaders gather in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday for the 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
President Aquino, along with the official Philippine delegation, is due to arrive here on Sunday afternoon to attend the summit on April 26 to 28, with nine other ASEAN leaders.
On his first day in Kuala Lumpur, the President will attend a gala dinner to be hosted by the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for all ASEAN leaders and their delegations in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), the summit venue.
On Monday (April 27), President Aquino will join other ASEAN leaders in the opening ceremony of the 26th ASEAN Summit in KLCC. The leaders are also expected to attend the plenary session after the opening ceremony.
During the plenary session, the leaders will discuss and exchange views on the establishment of the ASEAN Community; ASEAN Community’s Post-2015 Vision; and external relations and future direction.
On the same day, President Aquino will also attend separate meetings with representatives from the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, ASEAN Business Advisory Council, ASEAN Youth and Civil Society Organizations.
Immediately after the meetings, the President will fly to Langkawi together with other ASEAN leaders for the retreat session of the ASEAN Summit. President Aquino will also attend the closing ceremony of the summit.
A barbecue dinner hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his spouse, Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, will cap off President Aquino’s second day in Malaysia.
On Tuesday (April 28), the President will join his counterparts for the 11th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit before his departure for Manila.
President Aquino will be joined by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman.
Also accompanying the President are Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., Presidential Management Staff Chief Julia Abad, NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan, and Mindanao Development Authority Chairperson Luwalhati Antonino. PND
