President Moon Jae-in, who arrived in Manila this afternoon to attend the ASEAN-related summits, joined a gala dinner in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN.

The dinner was held in a festival-like atmosphere at the SMX Convention Center in Manila with the heads of state and government of ASEAN member states and their spouses in attendance. 

For today`s event, President Moon wore Barong, a traditional man’s outfit in the Philippines while First Lady Kim wore Baro`t Saya, a traditional woman’s dress, as did all the other First Couples. It is the custom for leaders participating in an ASEAN summit to wear traditional garments of the host country. This time the traditional costume of the Philippines was tailor-made for all participating First Couples.   

Thus clad, the heads of state and government exchanged greetings with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, the host of this ASEAN Summit, and posed for commemorative photos. The leaders dined, conversed, and watched cultural performances, celebrating ASEAN’s 50th anniversary. 

The main event tomorrow commences with an opening ceremony and consists of diverse itineraries, including ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, bilateral summits between various nations, the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, and the East Asia Summit (EAS).