Jakarta (ANTARA News) - ASEAN`s youth community wants more training in entrepreneurship and leadership in the future, one of its representatives said.

The representative, Lion Florish III, made the statement on Saturday after an informal meeting with the ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of the 18th ASEAN Summit.

"Such programs should not only help us improve our skills but also enable us, youths in ASEAN countries, to get to know each other," he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian youth representative Iman Usman said youth plays an important role in realizing ASEAN`s dream to be a single community in 2015. Therefore, activities that support youth in developing their quality as humans must be supported by all parties, especially the governments.

Iman also called for the governments of ASEAN to provide more scholarships for young people from countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam with the hope that it would help boost the development of human resources in the four countries.

The 18th Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Summit was kicked off at the Jakarta Convention Center here on Saturday morning.

ASEAN heads of state/government have been making preparations for the summit that was officially opened by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today.

Indonesia has prepared three main agendas for the ASEAN summit this time.

The first is to ensure and consolidate the achievements of ASEAN Community 2015, while the second is to maintain a secure and stable region for the countries in ASEAN to go ahead with their development, and the third is to make ASEAN play an active role in solving global issues. (*)
A051/HAJM/H-YH)

Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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