=(PICTURE)=

CEBU, Philippines, Jan 13, 2007 (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders opened their annual summit here on Saturday, looking to make progress on terrorism, free trade and a first-ever charter that will transform how the bloc does business. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting was postponed last month amid warnings by foreign governments of a terror strike, although the Philippines insisted that bad weather was to blame. Security remains a concern after three bombings in the southern island of Mindanao this week killed seven people, but officials say summit sites in the separate island of Cebu are safe. The 10-nation ASEAN bloc, which accounts for about one-sixth of the world's population, will agree to set a 2015 target date for the "free movement of goods, services, investment and capital", five years earlier than planned. A declaration will be signed on protecting the region's army of migrant workers from "grave risks of exploitation and abuse". The bloc will also sign the blueprint of its first-ever charter, aimed at turning the group into a European Union-style legal entity with binding rules and regulations, and an anti-terror deal to make it easier to track and extradite suspects. bur-mc/sm/jw