SINGAPORE, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The 32nd summit and related meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) kicked off here Wednesday, with topics including innovation-driven growth, smart cities and cyber security.
Singapore acts as the chair of ASEAN for 2018 under the theme "Resilience and Innovation."
The summit and related meetings will end on Saturday, when leaders of most ASEAN member countries gather under the host of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
According to a press release issued by Singapore's Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday, the leaders will discuss ASEAN's priorities, as well as the challenges and opportunities that it faces. They will also exchange views on regional and international developments.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will be absent from the summit as it coincides with his country's election season, according to reports from Kuala Lumpur.
The related meetings of the summit include the 16th ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council Meeting and the 17th ASEAN Political-Security Community Council Meeting. The two meetings will be chaired by Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, respectively.
The 16th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the 11th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Summit will also be held on the sidelines of the summit.
