Artists perform a cultural show during a welcome dinner as part of the 25th ASEAN summit at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

 Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries adopted a declaration Wednesday on the ASEAN Community's Post-2015 Vision after a plenary meeting of the 25th ASEAN summit.

The Nay Pyi Taw Declaration will serve as the basis for a comprehensive roadmap for the regional bloc beyond 2015.

At the summit chaired by Myanmar President U Thein Sein, the ASEAN leaders deliberated topics on ASEAN community building, future of ASEAN Community beyond 2015 and strengthening of ASEAN institutions.

It is the first time that Myanmar takes the rotating ASEAN chairmanship since it joined the 10-member bloc in 1997.

The ASEAN Community, which will be established by the end of 2015, will cover some 600 million people with a combined GDP of $2 trillion.

The ASEAN Community includes the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the ASEAN Political-Security Community and the ASEAN Sociocultural Community.

The ASEAN leaders on Tuesday shared their perspectives on the progress toward the planned ASEAN Community and expressed their vision on the ASEAN Community as a politically cohesive, economically dynamic, and harmonious community, which is credible and relevant to the aspirations of the ASEAN people.

They also discussed issues of common concern, such as climate change, disaster management, fighting extremism, infectious diseases as well as promoting humanitarian assistance.

The leaders also exchanged views on the South China Sea, the threat of terrorists and extremists in Iraq and Syria as well as the spread of the Ebola virus.

Some scholars said that connectivity, consensus and ASEAN centrality may be among the core issues that ASEAN leaders will have to tackle beyond 2015, with non-traditional security challenges as another key area of cooperation.

ASEAN leaders would also need to take into account challenges arising from the changing global economic landscape, as demand from the developed economies is expected to remain weak and the East Asian region is set to have an ever more closely integrated production network.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang  arrived in Myanmar Wednesday for a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation and an official visit to Myanmar.

At the invitation of the Myanmar president, Li will attend the 17th China-ASEAN Summit, the 17th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, which includes China, South Korea and Japan, and the 9th East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Daw from Wednesday to Friday.

He will pay an official visit to Myanmar after the meetings.

Established in 1967, the ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.