Chinese Premier Li, other world leaders to attend ASEAN summit

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday confirmed that Chinese Premier Li Qiang and leaders and representatives from the US, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa will attend the 47th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The ASEAN summit begins on Oct. 26 and continues until Oct. 28 in Kuala Lumpur, where US President Donald Trump is also expected to witness the peace accord signing between Cambodia and Thailand, according to state-run news agency Bernama.

World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chiefs and other representatives from other world organizations are also expected to attend the summit.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Myanmar's acting President Senior General Min Aung Hlaing will skip the event.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending virtually.

"Look forward to joining the ASEAN-India Summit virtually, and to further deepening of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Modi wrote on the US social media company X on Thursday after his phone talks with Anwar.

The bloc of 10 Southeast Asian nations, besides its internal meetings, will hold bloc-level summits with leaders of key dialogue partners, including the US, China, and Japan.

ASEAN, a regional bloc, was founded in Bangkok on Aug. 8, 1967. It currently includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Timor-Leste, or East Timor, is set to join the bloc as its 11th member in Kuala Lumpur.