(VOVworld) – The 27^th ASEAN summit opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday. Malaysian Prime Minister and Chairman of the 27^th ASEAN summit, Najib Razak, said the ASEAN Community establishment is a historical progress bringing ASEAN to a new development period.

27th ASEAN summit opens in Malaysia- Photo: Reuters

The ASEAN Community will practically benefit its members and their peoples with favorable conditions for accessing markets, reducing prices of products and services, lowering the unemployment rate, and supporting transportation.

He said ASEAN will continue to foster and promote the achieved results, deepen internal cooperation, and improve its capability in maintaining peace, stability, and security in the East Sea, and coping with natural disasters, terrorism, and extremism.

After the opening ceremony, ASEAN leaders attended a plenary session. They agreed that building an ASEAN Community is a continuous process and member countries have to elevate their cooperation to a higher level. They adopted the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and master plans to realize the vision entitled “ASEAN 2025: Forging ahead together”.

They agreed to continue implementing the Initiative on ASEAN Connectivity to narrow the development gap among member countries. They agreed to strengthen ASEAN’s role in relations with its partners and regional structure.

Leaders of the 10 ASEAN members witnessed the signing the ASEAN convention on anti-human trafficking, particularly women and children. The signing of the establishment of the ASEAN Community and ASEAN Community Vision 2025 will take place on Sunday with the presence of leaders of partners, dialogue countries, and the UN Secretary General.