(From left to right) Philippine's President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Head of Thailand's delegation Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao hold hands as they pose for a family photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Australia Summit, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 7, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

MELBOURNE, Australia - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed Southeast Asian leaders to Melbourne for a special summit to celebrate his country's 50 years of cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, being held in Melbourne from Monday through Wednesday, marks 50 years since Australia became the first dialogue partner of ASEAN.

On Monday, Australia said it set aside more funds for a maritime security pact with ASEAN countries

In a statement issued ahead of the three-day summit, Albanese said meetings would focus on boosting economic engagement between Australia and the region, supporting an accelerating clean energy transition, increasing maritime cooperation and supporting emerging leaders.

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On Monday, Australia said it set aside more funds for a maritime security pact with ASEAN countries.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia would invest A$64 million ($41.8 million) over four years, including A$40 million in new funding, which would contribute to the security and prosperity of the region, consistent with the priorities of Southeast Asian countries, adds Reuters. 

As a bloc, ASEAN is Australia's second-largest two-way trading partner behind only China.

In addition to the leaders of member nations of ASEAN, the summit will also be attended by the leader of Timor-Leste. The bloc agreed in principle to admit Timor-Leste as its 11th member in November 2022.

With Reuters inputs