The 17 th ASEAN Summit and other related summits will take place in Hanoi from Oct. 28-30.

At a press briefing in Hanoi on Oct. 20, Deputy Foreign Minister Dao Viet Trung, who is also Secretary General of the National Committee for ASEAN 2010, said that this is the second phase of ASEAN Summit in 2010 hosted by Vietnam as the Chair of ASEAN.

Apart from the 17 th ASEAN Summit, there was the annual ASEAN+1 Summit between ASEAN and its partners – China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and India; and the second ASEAN-Russia Summit, the ASEAN-Australia Summit, the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit, the third ASEAN-UN Summit, the ASEAN+3 Summit (ASEAN plus China, Japan and the RoK), the fifth East Asia Summit, the second summit meeting between Japan and the Mekong region countries and the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

The fifth East Asia Summit will see the first-ever attendance of the Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State as special guests of the Summit Chairman.

Deputy Minister Trung said this was also an opportunity for ASEAN leaders to review their cooperation over the past year and work out orientations and priority focuses for the following year, to boost ASEAN cooperation and the relationship between ASEAN and its partners.

The Summits will see the attendance of the heads of States and Governments of ASEAN countries and leaders from eight ASEAN partners, including China , Japan , the RoK, India , Russia , Australia and New Zealand as well as the UN Secretary General.

The coming summit will focus on the contents of building the community and implementing the ASEAN Charter, external relations and key role of ASEAN, sustainable development and coping with global challenges.

The summit is expected to adopt the Chairman’s Statement on the result of the 17 th ASEAN Summit and other related events.

ASEAN leaders will approve a master plan on ASEAN connectivity, a declaration on human resource development and skills for economic recovery and sustainable development, the Hanoi declaration on increasing social welfare and women and children’s development. They are the two important documents that were proposed by Vietnam and have won support from other ASEAN nations.

ASEAN and its partners will adopt a number of important documents, including the ASEAN-China leaders’ statement on sustainable development, the joint declaration of the ASEAN-RoK strategic partnership for peace and prosperity, the Hanoi declaration on the 5 th anniversary of East Asia Summit and action plans for the 2011-2015 period./.