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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi left Haneda Airport on the government plane on the night of October 6 to attend the Fifth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and arrived in Hanoi, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam that same day. The meeting commenced with a working dinner on the night of October 7. The topics on the agenda for discussion until October 9 included regional situations such as those of the Korean Peninsula and Iraq, the reform of the United Nations, countermeasures against terrorism and economic cooperation. On the first day of the meeting, official approval was given for 13 new member countries joining the ASEM, including the three countries of the Union of Myanmar, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Kingdom of Cambodia from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ten countries that newly joined the European Union (EU) this May, such as the Czech Republic, Republic of Hungary and Republic of Poland. The meeting was thus to be carried forward with the participation of 38 countries and one organization, the European Commission. Prime Minister Koizumi, who holds the presidency of the Asian countries at this meeting, attended the Asian leaders' summit meeting that evening and shared his view by saying, "I will work for the enhancement of dialogues and cooperation between the European and Asian countries." After this meeting, a ceremony to commemorate the accession of new member countries was held at a hotel in Hanoi. Prime Minister Koizumi and Mr. Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China among others were in attendance, and Mr. Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia and Mr. Juhan Parts, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia each delivered a speech as the representatives of the newly joining members.