Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 05, 2004
ASEAN Ministerial Meeting Retreat ends in Vietnam
The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting Retreat ended here Thursday. Delegates focused their discussions in the retreat on the threepillars, namely security, economy and socio-culture of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community.
The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting Retreat ended here Thursday.
Delegates focused their discussions in the retreat on the threepillars, namely security, economy and socio-culture of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community.
Nine ASEAN foreign ministers, general secretary of the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is on behalf of the foreign minister of Malaysia, and ASEAN General Secretary Ong KengYong also discussed measures to build the ASEAN community by 2020 on the three pillars.
They talked about regional and international issues, including the upcoming admission of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the possibility of establishing a peacekeeping force in ASEAN, nuclear talks of the Korean Peninsular, and the role of the United States in Iraq, Noer HassanWirajuda, minister of foreign affairs of Indonesia, said after theretreat.
"We have discussed common concerns in a very friendly and open manner, even on sensitive issues," he noted.
The retreat's delegates also discussed preparations for the 10th ASEAN summit to be held in Laos in late 2005, and put forwardconcrete directions to strengthen ties between ASEAN and dialogue countries.
Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia will join the ASEM, said Nguyen Dy Nien, minister of foreign affairs of Vietnam.
"The issue of peacekeeping in ASEAN has been raised in the retreat, but it is too early. ASEAN is an organization which is unlike the EU (the European Union). Each country has its own policy about politics and military," he concluded.