Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan met in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Saturday with youth representatives on the sidelines of the 14th ASEAN summit, calling on young people to play an active role in the bloc's community building process.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose country currently holds the rotating chair of the 10-nation bloc, stressed the important role youths can play in helping create an ASEAN community, both as recipients of the benefits of ASEAN integration and as leaders of the ASEAN in the future.

At the meeting, it was agreed to convene the ASEAN leaders' informal meeting with ASEAN youth representatives as a part of its annul ASEAN summit.

The meeting came among a series of informal meetings between ASEAN leaders and representatives from various sectors of the society, including the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, youths, civil societies and the private sectors. These meetings were aimed at promoting greater people participation in the ASEAN according to the ASEAN Charter.

The 14th summit, which opened in Thailand's central seaside resorts of Cha-am/Hua Hin on Saturday, was the first of its kind after the ASEAN Charter came into force on December 15, 2008. This document envisages the establishment of an ASEAN community by 2015.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2009)