An extract.
>
>
>ASEAN Ministers Meet
>
>
>
>Vietnamese foreign minister delivering a speech at the opening meeting.
>General view of the opening meeting.
>
>The 33rd Ministerial Meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations
>(ASEAN) opened in Bangkok on July 24. The two-day meeting was chaired by Thai
>Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and attended by the Foreign Ministers of
>Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
>Singapore, and Vietnam, and ASEAN General Secretary Rodolfo Severino. The Thai
>FM said that ASEAN today is not only a force of peace and stability in
>south-east Asia but also a force to ensure greater security for the
>Asian-Pacific region through the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). Addressing the
>session, Thai PM Chuan Leekpai reviewed the 33-year construction and
>development path of the regional group. He attributed the development of the
>association to joint efforts, co-operation and unity of member countries. He
>pointed out the fact that ASEAN today embraces all 10 Southeast Asian nations.
>The challenge ahead of the regional group is how to intensify its co-operation
>efforts and unity in diversity. Mr Chuan said ASEAN should devise a more
>comprehensive development programme for the new century, enabling the
>association to successfully implement the ‘ASEAN Vision 2020’ and the ‘Hanoi
>Plan of Action’ (HPA) with a view to ensuring dynamism and long-term
>competitiveness of the whole region. Foreign ministers from ASEAN member
>countries also delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. (VNA)
>
>
__________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki - Finland
+358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081
e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
___________________________________
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe/unsubscribe messages
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
___________________________________
