The President attended the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia

President Md. Sahabuddin attended the opening session of the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) here today.

The three-day summit is being held on September 5-7 under the chairmanship of Indonesian President Joko Widodo under the theme 'ASEAN Perspective: The Center for Growth'.

President Sahabuddin of Bangladesh and his wife Dr. Rebecca reached the venue at 9:50 am local time with Sultana. Upon arrival, the President of ASEAN and the President of Indonesia welcomed them after a formal state reception.

The President of Indonesia accompanied by his wife Iriana Joko Widodo took part in a photo session with the President of Bangladesh and his wife.

In the opening ceremony, Bangladesh National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders chairperson Saima Wazed and Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen were also there.

Along with leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries, several heads of state and government and leaders of partner countries are participating in the opening session of the summit.

The ASEAN Secretary-General said that host country Indonesia has invited 27 world leaders and relevant persons from international organizations such as the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for the summit.

The ASEAN Summit also discussed a number of important themes such as the development and strengthening of the organization's cooperation with external partners, the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea, the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ), the ASEAN Maritime Outlook, the ASEAN Outlook in the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and issues related to Myanmar. will be highlighted.

According to the ASEAN Secretariat, several important agreements related to ASEAN infrastructure strengthening, food security, blue economy, green economy, digital economy, and payment ecosystem are expected to be signed at this summit.

Besides the ASEAN Summit, the Bangladesh President will attend the 18th 'East Asia Summit (EAS)', where he will address its concluding session.

Besides the 10 ASEAN countries, the United States, Russian Federation, New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and India are attending the East Asia Summit.

As per the program, the Head of State will hold separate bilateral meetings with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Secretary General Dr Salman Al Farisi, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chin on September 7.

The ASEAN Summit is a biennial meeting as it serves as a prominent regional (Asia) and international (worldwide) conference, with world leaders attending its related summits and meetings to discuss various issues and global issues.