The event is a regular meeting of ASEAN leaders and the first summit in the year of Cambodia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN.

Prior to the ASEAN summit, there will be preliminary sessions of the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and ministers in charge of ASEAN pillars: political-security, economics, and culture-society.

The 20^th ASEAN Summit takes place at a time when ASEAN is continuing to accelerate its roadmap for building an ASEAN community and connectivity, promote its relations with partners, and build a regional architecture in line with countries’ interests and regional characteristics in which ASEAN plays a central role.

On the theme of “ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny”, the summit will focus on enhancing cooperation in building an ASEAN community and promoting links and connectivity between ASEAN and its partners, and discuss regional and international issues of common concern.

ASEAN will continue with “open” external policies and strengthen its relations with other partners through the frameworks of regional forums such as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to create favourable conditions for partners to contribute their opinions on issues related to peace, security, cooperation and development in the region and support ASEAN’s top priorities.

Partners continue to promote cooperation with ASEAN by supporting its process of building an ASEAN community and its central role in the regional cooperation mechanisms and frameworks.

Last year, ASEAN upgraded its relations with the UN to a comprehensive partnership and coordinated with China in organizing the 20^th anniversary of the strategic partnership. The organization also discussed issues related to a strategic partnership with the US and worked with India on the 20^th anniversary of dialogue relations this year towards lifting its relations with the country to a strategic partnership.

The ASEAN+3 process is moving towards a long-term target of building an East Asia community, while the EAS and ARF have made great strides.

ASEAN is enhancing its role in regional economic connectivity through building an ASEAN framework on a comprehensive regional economic partnership. The organization and its partners will discuss the links between the EAS, ARF and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) to ensure regional security architecture.

ASEAN is facing difficulties in adjusting policies and increasing interference as other countries continue to bring pressure to bear on ASEAN and claim greater influence at some forums, thus posing huge challenges to the bloc in performing well its central role, as well as balancing relations with big countries.

At the summit, ASEAN leaders will discuss the above-mentioned issues and will make essential resolutions to ensure ASEAN’s central role in the future.

The Vietnamese delegation aims to continue to bring into full play what it had achieved in 2010 and 2011 to build a strong and united ASEAN which plays a crucial role in the region. Vietnam will promote its relations with regional countries to ensure a peaceful, secure and stable environment in the region and contribute its opinions on issues of common concern to ASEAN and Vietnam, thereby elevating its international status and strengthening bilateral ties between the country and important partners.

As planned, ASEAN leaders are expected to approve the Phnom Penh Declaration on “ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny”, a Joint Declaration for a Drug-Free ASEAN, an ASEAN Chair’s Declaration on the 45^th anniversary of ASEAN and the results of the ASEAN summit.