PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will leave on Friday to attend the 15th Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Summit at the seaside resorts of Cha-am and Hua Hin in Thailand on October 23 to 25.

Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo, in a press briefing in Malacañang Tuesday, said Arroyo will join her Asean counterparts in announcing the establishment of an Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

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She said the 10 countries that make up AICHR will appoint a commissioner each to serve for three years.

Fajardo added that other issues on the agenda include the recommendation to establish a free trade agreement between South East Asia and East Asia.

The Asean member countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Asean leaders will likewise meet with the six dialogue partners: China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.

Arroyo together with the other Asean leaders are also expected to sign the Cha-am-Hua Hin Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation on Education to Achieve an Asean Caring and Sharing Community, the Asean Declaration on Climate Change, to reaffirm Asean position on the negotiations under the United Nations Frameworks Convention on Climate Change.

Asean Foreign Ministers will also sign The Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of Asean.

Apart from the 15th Asean Summit, related meetings that the President will attend are: Asean-China Summit, Japan Summit, Republic of Korea Summit, India Summit, ASEAN Plus Three Summit (with China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea), and East Asia Summit (with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand).

Fajardo said President Arroyo will be back in Manila on Sunday. (JRDB/Press release/Sunnex)