Also present at the financial summit was IMF Deputy Managing Director Shinohara, WB Managing Director Daboub and the President of the Asia Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda.

In his opening speech, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung highlighted the fact that ASEAN has remained united and is gradually moving toward an ASEAN economic community by 2015 despite the recent adverse conditions such as the global financial crisis, epidemics, climate change and natural disasters.

Mr Hung said apart from issues related to intra-ASEAN economic cooperation, the meeting should also discuss any proposals that ASEAN may put forward to the G20 group, like climate change and a financial safety network at global, regional and national levels.

The agenda for this year’s meeting includes the roadmap for ASEAN’s financial and monetary integration, ASEAN’s action plans in developing capital markets, the liberalization of financial services, and cooperation in the fields of insurance and customs.

In addition, participants will discuss the Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI) and the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) Agreement within the framework of cooperation with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Previously, at its third meeting in Hanoi on April 7, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council adopted the Draft ASEAN Leaders' Statement on Sustained Recovery and Development, which was initiated by Vietnam.

The draft, which will be submitted to the 16^th ASEAN Summit, reiterated the bloc’s determination to rebound from the global financial meltdown and maintain regional growth.