Foreign and economic ministers from the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) began their formal meetings in Kuala Lumpur Friday to lay the groundwork for the upcoming series of summits.

The 11th ASEAN Summit will begin on Monday followed by related summits, notably the ASEAN+3 (ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea) and the inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS), involving the 10 ASEAN member states, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, on Wednesday.

The ASEAN ministers started their meeting Thursday night with an informal dinner at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center here.

About 30 documents are now up for the ministers' perusal before they are forwarded to the leaders, either for approval or signing.

The documents and agendas for the summits were prepared by ASEAN, ASEAN+3 and EAS officials after three rounds of discussions which ended on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2005)