South Korean President Moon Jae-in greeted Jokowi upon arrival at the Busan Exhibition Convention Center (BEXCO) at 9 a.m. local time.
Leaders of 10 ASEAN member nations, including Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, were attendees at the summit.
Moon remarked in a keynote speech that the history of exchanges, lasting over several centuries, was gradually pushing East Asia toward the center of the global economy again.
"Asia is the future of the world," he remarked, emphasizing the significance of economic cooperation between South Korea and the ASEAN.
The economies of ASEAN and Korea were rapidly approaching, Moon remarked, adding that Korea and the ASEAN were everlasting friends and a community of destiny.
"Korea will be a community growing together with the ASEAN, beyond ASEAN friends. Under the thought that the development of ASEAN is that of Korea, Korea will always be with the ASEAN," he stated.
Moon also sought deeper cooperation between the ASEAN and South Korea to face protectionism, international crimes, and industry revolution 4.0.
"We must strengthen cooperation and solidarity, especially in facing challenges of the industry revolution 4.0," he noted.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi had earlier expounded that the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit would comprise three sessions.
The first session aims at deliberating on the evaluation of three decades of cooperation between the ASEAN and South Korea and future cooperation for the subsequent 30 years.
The second session will focus on discussing connectivity issues, while the third session would be a retreat for discussion on regional and global issues.
The ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
