The 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit opened in Singapore today.

The ASEAN Summit is an annual meeting held on a rotational basis by the country which holds the chairmanship of the ASEAN Standing Committee.

The Summit is geared toward strengthening ASEAN as a regional institution that is competent in managing issues of regional and international concern in an effective and productive way.

The Summit will provide opportunities for leaders of the ASEAN member countries to evaluate the relations and cooperation within the grouping as well as identifying the most appropriate measures in defining the direction of ASEAN.

The official theme of the 13th ASEAN Summit is "One ASEAN at the Heart of Dynamic Asia."

Summits of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, allow the grouping to strengthen its cooperation with these nations.

Other related summits scheduled to take place this time include the ASEAN +3 (ASEAN + China, Japan, South Korea) Summit, the ASEAN+ China Summit, the ASEAN + Japan Summit, the ASEAN + South Korea Summit, and the 3rd East Asia Summit.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.