MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte will attend the 38th and 39th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summits and related summits from October 26 to 28, Malacañang confirmed on Monday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque stated in his regular press briefing that Duterte will participate in the leaders’ summit via an online video conference.
“Dadalo po ang ating Presidente (Our President will attend) via Zoom or computer hook-up,” Roque said. “As usual po, regular naman po itong mga Asean summit (As usual, these Asean summits are regular).”
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Brunei Darussalam will host the 38th and 39th Asean Summits and Related Summits via virtual video conferences under the theme: “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper”.
In a statement released on Oct. 23, host Brunei Darussalam said among the topics to be discussed during the meetings include strengthening the resilience of the Asean Community towards regional recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic; enhancing the preparedness of Asean in addressing common challenges; seizing new opportunities in pursuit of shared prosperity; and maintaining cooperation towards achieving the region’s long term goals.
Brunei has established a series of deliverables for the Asean agenda, which are based on the three pillars of Asean community building, namely the political-security community, the economic community, and the social-cultural community.
Asean leaders and its dialogue partners such as China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of India, the United States, Australia, and the Russian Federation will also attend the summit.
Apart from Brunei, other Asean countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
