Leaders from Coral Triangle countries on Friday signed an agreement to e nhance cooperation in rescuing the regional coral reefs in Manado of Indonesia's North Sulawesi province.

Delegates attend the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit in Manaco, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, May 15, 2009. The CTI Summit opened here on Friday, aimed to create a brighter future for all people of the Coral Triangle. [Yue Yuewei/Xinhua]

They were President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines, President Jose Ramos Horta of Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Michael Somare, the Solomon Island's Prime Minister Derek Sikua and Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak.

The signing marked an official cooperation among those countries for a brighter future for all people of the Coral Triangle.

An Indonesian official said, in the signing ceremony, Malaysia pledged to contribute US$1 million for the CTI.

Tengku Faizasyah, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson told Xinhua that the pledge would be very useful for the initiative to carry out its programs.

Faizasyah also said that the action plan agreed in the summit would be the guide line for the next "more directive cooperation."

"We managed to lift the coral reef issue that is very important in our civilization to the international core agenda. And, the six countries involved in the cooperation will focus on the cooperated areas," he said.