CEBU, Philippines, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The 12th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has focused discussions on building "one caring and sharing community," according to a summit chairperson's statement made public Sunday.

    The chairperson, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, described the summit, which opened Saturday, as "very productive."

    She said in the statement, "We stressed that the ASEAN community we are building shall be a community of peoples caring for and sharing their human, natural and cultural resources and strengths for their common good and mutual benefit."

    Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

    The regional grouping planned to accomplish its community objectives, namely an ASEAN socio-cultural community, security community and economic community, by 2020 or sooner.

    On building the socio-cultural community, the chairperson's statement said the ASEAN leaders recognized ASEAN's progress in creating a caring environment that prioritizes the quality of life of its peoples. They agreed to address the special needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged, through people-centered integration. To reinforce this environment in the contest of building a stronger regional identity, they agreed to hold ASEAN Day commemorative activities in each of their countries.

    The current summit agreed to strengthen the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of women and children within and between ASEAN member countries. Towards this end, the leaders will mainstream the concerns of women and children in national and regional development plans.

    The summit issued the ASEAN declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers and the leaders have directed their officials to implement the Declaration and to develop effective mechanism to safeguard their migrant workers.

    The summit convened the Second Special Session on HIV and AIDS to stem and reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS in the region. Leaders of the 10 member countries have adopted the Third Work Program on HIV and AIDS for 2006-2010 and expressed support for the work of the ASEAN Task Force on AIDS in strengthening regional responses to HIV and AIDS through multi-sectoral participation.

    The leaders agreed to strengthen their efforts to achieve their common goals of eradicating poverty and hunger in ASEAN.

    The summit affirmed full support for the operations of the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, based in the Philippines, and agreed to pursue marine biodiversity projects in the region.

    On building the security community, the statement said leaders of the member countries signed the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism to enhance the region's capacity to confront terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation among their law enforcement and other relevant authorities. They recognized the importance of inter-faith dialogue in fostering greater understanding among their peoples and pledged to increase cooperation in this area.

    On building the economic community, the summit reached a consensus to hasten the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015 and to transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor, and freer flow of capital.

    The summit agreed to deepen ASEAN cooperation, especially for key ASEAN infrastructure projects, including the ASEAN power grid and Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline. The leaders agreed to pay close attention to the security, environmental, health and safety dimensions of the energy sector.