Thousands of torch- holding and cheering Filipino joined in a grand parade Wednesday night in Cebu, the Philippines, where the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related summits will be held.

Local artists, dressed in Philippine-style costumes, performed dances, drum-beating during the one-hour parade and the lighting ceremony of the Cebu International Convention Center, where some of the 12th ASEAN Summit and related meetings will be held.

In its final preparations for the meetings, local government in Cebu, the largest city in central Philippines, extended their warm welcome to diplomats and journalists at the ceremony, kicking off a series of multilateral and bilateral meetings for the next week or so.

The city is expected to catch the eyes of about 1,700 domestic and foreign journalists as dozens of multilateral and bilateral meetings between ASEAN countries and its dialogue partners, namely China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, will be held here on Dec. 7-14

Prior to the formal ASEAN summit and related summits, ASEAN Senior Officials Summit, ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, together with other summits, will be held as of Thursday.

Concerns of Southeast Asian businessmen over the region's planned economic integration by 2015 are expected to be discussed by 500 industry and business leaders from ASEAN countries and its dialogue partners at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit related senior officials meetings.

Focus group discussions on each of the 11 sectors that have been prioritized for integration will be held on Thursday, the first day of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2006, whose theme is set as "One Caring and Sharing Community: Bringing ASEAN Business to the World."

Closer integration and cooperation between ASEAN countries, energy security and counter-terrorism will top the highlights in the coming ASEAN summit and its related summits with dialogue partners, which were scheduled on Dec. 10-14.

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

Source: Xinhua