ASEAN leaders adopt declaration on post-2015 vision

Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries adopted a declaration in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday on the ASEAN Community's Post-2015 Vision after a plenary meeting of the 25th ASEAN summit. [Special coverage]

The Nay Pyi Taw Declaration will serve as the basis for a comprehensive roadmap for the regional bloc beyond 2015.

The ASEAN Community, which is to be established by the end of 2015, will cover some 600 million people with a combined GDP of 2 trillion US dollars.

The ASEAN leaders also approved a declaration on strengthening the ASEAN Secretariat and a joint statement on climate change.

At the summit chaired by Myanmar President U Thein Sein, the ASEAN leaders deliberated topics on ASEAN community building, future of ASEAN Community beyond 2015 and strengthening of ASEAN institutions.

It is the first time that Myanmar takes the rotating ASEAN chairmanship since it joined the 10-member bloc in 1997.

The ASEAN leaders shared their perspectives on the progress toward the envisaged ASEAN Community and expressed their vision on the ASEAN Community as a politically cohesive, economically dynamic, and harmonious community, which is credible and relevant to the aspirations of the ASEAN people.

They also discussed issues of common concerns, such as climate change, disaster management, fighting against extremism, infectious diseases as well as promoting humanitarian assistance.

The leaders also exchanged views on the South China Sea, the threat of terrorists and extremists in Iraq and Syria as well as the spread of Ebola virus.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.