KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Leaders of the 10 ASEAN members signed the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter at their 11th summit held here Monday.

    The declaration says it recognizes the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) of 1967 "as the founding document of ASEAN that represents the collective will of the nations of Southeast Asia."

    It says that mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of ASEAN members "has fostered a positive environment for the steady development of an ASEAN Community to meet the challenges of the future."

    It expresses the desire to realize the ASEAN Community as envisaged in the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II and its Plans of Action and Roadmap.

    While emphasizing the importance of having an appropriate ASEAN institutional framework to meet the challenges of realizing the ASEAN Community, the declaration says that the ASEAN Charter will "serve as a firm foundation for ASEAN in the years ahead and to facilitate community building towards an ASEAN Community and beyond."

    It says that the charter will reaffirm principles and goals contained in ASEAN's milestone agreements, which include promotion of community interest for the benefit of all ASEAN members, narrowing the development gaps among the member countries, and continuing to foster a community of caring societies and promote a common regional identity.

    They also include ensuring that countries in the region live at peace with one another and with the world at large in a just, democratic and harmonious environment; commitment to strengthen ASEAN's competitiveness to deepen and broaden ASEAN's internal economic integration and linkages with the world economy; and renunciation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and avoidance of arms race. Enditem