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ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting Opens in Vientiane
The 13th ASEAN-European Union (EU) Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) kicked off Monday, December 11, in the Lao capital of Vientiane.
The AEMM brought together ministers of 10 ASEAN and 15 EU member countries and the European Commission.
Aiming to further strengthen the links between ASEAN and Europe, the ministers will discuss regional and global political-security issues, exchange views on the regional and international economic situation and review cooperation between the two regional groupings.
All the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers attended the meeting while only four of their 15 European counterparts, those from Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Finland, are present because EU leaders are meeting in France to discuss crucial issues such as a plan to increase the powers of the biggest member states and the setting up of a Rapid Reaction Force.
The rest of the EU delegation is comprised of ministers in charge of development affairs,deputy foreign ministers, permanent secretaries or ambassadors.
Dialogue between ASEAN and the EU has been stalled for the past three years because of the EU's objection to Myanmar's participation.
The EU criticizes Myanmar's human rights record and other practices.
Myanmar remains the only ASEAN country that has yet to sign the ASEAN-EU Cooperation Agreement, a framework that allows the signatories to participate in various cooperative schemes.
The other two new members of ASEAN, Laos and Cambodia, became signatories to the agreement at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in July.
Myanmar announced on Saturday on the sidelines of a meeting in preparation for the AEMM that it has agreed to a visit to the country by top officials from the European Union in January next year.
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