Leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members and dialogue partners have arrived in the kingdom before the regional summit and related meetings kick off on Saturday.
Running until Monday, the 35th Asean Summit and Related Summits are being held at the Impact Muang Thong Thani Arena, Exhibition and Convention Centre, Nonthaburi under the theme of "Advancing Partnership for Sustainability".
High-level dignitaries attending the summits include leaders of Asean member states, the president of the Republic of Korea, the prime ministers of Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and Russia as well as premier of the People's Republic of China, the special envoy of the president of the United States, and the secretary-general of the United Nations.
The Managing Director of the IMF will be the guest of Thailand in its capacity as the chair of the regional grouping, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The leaders are expected to adopt and issue as many as 21 declarations and documents including the Joint Statement on the Reaffirmation of the Commitment to Advancing the Rights of the Child in Asean and the Best Practices and Non-Binding Guidelines for Cooperative Activities on Marine Environmental Protection in the South China Sea.
On Friday, economic ministers of Asean and its dialogue partners began talks on the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), negotiations for which have been agreed to be concluded by the end of this year. The 3rd RCEP Summit is scheduled for Monday.
On Saturday, new applicants to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) will sign the Instrument of Accession to TAC.
In the evening, the Asean leaders will attend the 35th Asean Summit's plenary session to discuss developments pertaining to the Political and Security, Economic, and Socio-Cultural Pillars.
Furthermore, private sector-oriented activities will be held on the sidelines of the summits. These are the Asean Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2019 on Saturday and Sunday and the 2nd Indo-Pacific Business Forum on Monday.
The closing ceremony and the handing over of the Asean chairmanship to Vietnam will take place on Monday. However, Thailand will continue to serve as chairman until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the Rohingya Association Thailand has called on the leaders of Asean member states and the government of Myanmar to ensure the safety of their compatriots, both those who are still in Rakhine State and the tens of thousands of refugees who have already fled.
In a statement, the association asked the governments of Asean members to verify and document Rohingya migrants so they can live and work in their host countries legally; and to consider granting permanent residence status to Rohingya who live for extended periods in Asean member states and who are not willing to return to Myanmar.
The association has also asked the Myanmar government to verify and grant citizenship to all displaced Rohingya.
They asked the government to guarantee the safety of Rohingya refugees who voluntarily agree to return home to Myanmar, and to guarantee Rohingya equal rights to serve in the civil, police and defence services.
