Nearly two dozen world leaders are descending in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur for a three-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from Sunday to Tuesday, and multiple other meetings on the sidelines.
This will be the 47th summit of the ASEAN.
Here’s what you need to know:
ASEAN is made up of 10 members – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Together, they have a population of 678 million people and a gross domestic product of $3.9 trillion, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
This year, ASEAN will induct its 11th member, East Timor. The country gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 and is home to 1.4 million people.
The summit will bring together leaders from every country in the bloc except for Myanmar’s acting president, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
The ASEAN summit is accompanied annually by the East Asia Summit, a gathering of leaders of the ASEAN nations, the US, China, India, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
This year, US President Donald Trump, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will be attending.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak will represent Moscow while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part virtually.
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