SINGAPORE – The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and US President Barack Obama Sunday vowed broader cooperation to enhance peace, stability, and prosperity in the region in their first annual dialogue here.

The ASEAN leaders and Obama pledged to bolster economic cooperation through more trade and investments as well as enhanced partnership to protect the global economy from future crises.

They agreed to strengthen efforts to combat terrorism and other transnational crimes, as well as promote a nuclear weapons-free world. They also pressed North Korea to return to the six-party talks to resolve the nuclear row in the region.

Obama and the ASEAN leaders, however, stopped short of issuing calls to release Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during their meeting after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Instead, they called on the Myanmar government to free, fair, fully inclusive and transparent elections next year, including a dialogue with all stakeholders.

The historic meeting, co-chaired by Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and coordinated by President Arroyo, was also the first time in many decades that a Myanmar leader has met a US President.

The Philippines was requested to lead the drafting of the next five year Plan of Action of US and ASEAN.

"Drawing on valuable lessons from the crises of 1997 and 2008, we resolved to contribute to reforming the global economic and financial architecture to safeguard the global economy from future crises, and to promote regional and global economic growth and recovery," the ASEAN and the US said in a joint statement.

"We stressed the need to further enhance economic cooperation and partnership through new initiatives under the ASEAN-US trade and investment framework agreement to be agreed by the ASEAN trade ministers and US trade representative," they said.

The leaders also committed to hasten regional economic integration in the Asia Pacific by promoting greater convergence among APEC economies in key trade and investment policy and pushing for the successful conclusion of the Doha Round talks in 2010.

In the statement, Obama also welcomed ASEAN's plans to achieve a single ASEAN community by 2015 based on the ASEAN charter and reaffirmed commitment to support those plans. The group plans to form a ASEAN-US eminent persons group in support of enhanced ASEAN-US cooperation in addressing regional and global issues.

The group also agreed to strengthen cooperation on food security, clean energy, disaster risk management, and preparedness against diseases, particularly Influenza A (H1N1).

Obama also expressed support for the creation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and even invited its members to visit the US next year to consult with international experts.

On climate change, the group also promised to work closely to ensure the success of the climate talks in Copenhagen next month. The outcome should include “long-term cooperative actions” to curb global warming, they said.

On the human rights situation in Myanmar, ASEAN leaders also welcomed the high level dialogue and the policy of the US to engage with the Myanmar government.