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The Philippines will host the 49th ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Manila from Nov. 15-17, bringing together Southeast Asian leaders and major dialogue partners for talks expected to focus on Myanmar, energy security, critical minerals and strategic competition across the Asia-Pacific.
The summit will open Sunday at the Philippine International Convention Center, followed by plenary and retreat sessions, according to the Philippine government.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will chair the summit under the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.”
Leaders and representatives from ASEAN’s 11 members—Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam—are expected to attend.
U.S. President Donald Trump, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will attend as guests of the chair.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has confirmed his participation, while Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. New Zealand will send Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
Myanmar will be represented by the director-general of the ASEAN Affairs Department of its Foreign Ministry. ASEAN has excluded Myanmar’s political leaders from its summits since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021.
Brazil’s and Canada’s leaders, along with Georgieva, are also expected to address the plenary.
The summit will also include meetings between ASEAN leaders and parliamentarians, business representatives and youth delegates.
Discussions are expected to cover the crisis in Myanmar, energy security, critical minerals and wider great power competition.
Leaders are also expected to discuss the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, described as the world’s first binding region-wide digital economy deal.
Related Plus One Summits will begin Monday and continue through Tuesday, with ASEAN holding separate meetings with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, the U.S. and the U.N.
On Tuesday, Marcos will convene the 29th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit, a leaders-led forum focused on strategic, political and economic issues.
He will also oversee the closing ceremony and hand over the ASEAN chairship to Singapore.
The summit will conclude with the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit on Nov. 17, which Trump is scheduled to attend.
Trump last visited the Philippines in 2017 for an ASEAN summit in Manila during his first term.
He is scheduled to travel to China afterward for the APEC Summit in Shenzhen.
The Philippine government has declared Nov. 16-18 special non-working days in Metro Manila to ease traffic congestion and support security arrangements for visiting delegations.
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