Bali, Nov 17 (IANS): The 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit kicked off here Thursday.

The summit, themed "ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations", is chaired by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In the inaugural address, Yudhoyono showed sympathy towards the victims of natural disasters in the Southeast Asian region this year and expressed solidarity with the governments of affected countries, reported Xinhua.

"The summit is convened to solicit cooperation in the Southeast Asian region to reach the ASEAN Community by 2015," Yodhoyono said.

"The world is faced with great changes...(and) new threat of economic crisis. Continuous uncertainties are haunting the global economy besides financial fluctuation like food security, water security, the issue of energy, climate change... Amidst such great changes, there are also great hopes placed on our region," he said.

"History has proven and tested that the ASEAN association is mature, able to keep stability and strengthen economic growth," he added.

The meeting is set to address a broad range of issues impacting the region including global economy, G20 Summit, disaster management, climate change, food and energy security, regional integration.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday left for a four-day trip to Bali, where he will attend the East Asia and the ASEAN summit, and Singapore where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the city state.

The highlight of the trip will be his meetings with US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Indonesian island.