NAY PYI TAW, 20 Nov - President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar U Thein Sein attended the opening ceremony of 19th ASEAN Summit held at Nusa Dua 5 Hall of Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre (BNDCC) in Bali of Indonesia at 9 am on 17 November.

Also present at the ceremony were King of Brunei Darussalam Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, President of the Republic of Indonesia Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Prime Minister of Lao People's Democratic Republic Mr Thongsing Thammavong, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Thailand Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Vietnam Mr Nguyen Tan Dung, the special envoy of the President of the Philippines, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Wunna Maung Lwin, Union Minister for Information and for Culture U Kyaw Hsan, Union Minister for National Planning and Economic Development and for Livestock and Fisheries U Tin Naing Thein, deputy ministers, highranking departmental officials, ministers and high-ranking officials from ASEAN member countries, ASEAN Secretary-
General Dr Surin Pitsuwan and invited guests.

First, Indonesian President Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono extended a warm welcome to heads of state/ government.

The ceremony was opened with ASEAN anthem presented by Indonesian cultural troupe. ASEAN Alternate Chairman Indonesian President Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his opening address expressed Bali as an historical significance for ASEAN cooperation, and underlined five main points - to take concrete steps in order to strengthen the three pillars of ASEAN Community; to foster the economic growth of the region; to take on a leading role in designing a more efficient and effective architecture regional cooperation; to maintain the Southeast Asian and East Asian stability and security; and to strengthen the role of ASEAN globally. Next, President U Thein Sein and heads of state/ government of ASEAN countries had a documentary photo taken together.

MNA