160 Media Reps To Cover Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), Jan 26 (Bernama) -- A total of 160 media representatives have registered for news coverage of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat and other preparatory meetings in Sabah's capital city. The large number reflects ASEAN's increasing importance as a regional grouping, as well as the fact that this year is the year of the realisation of the Asean Community. A media secretariat spokesman told Bernama that the number comprised 43 representatives from the official media, namely the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), RTM and the Information Department. Also in the field are other Malaysian media (55 representatives) and foreign media (62 representatives). The spokesman said the number was expected to increase as they now allowed walk-in registrations. The online media registration for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat was previously scheduled from Jan 1 to 10, but later extended to Jan 19. The foreign media includes Agence France-Presse (AFP), Fuji TV, Radio Television Brunei, Kyodo News, Abu Dhabi TV, Reuters, Vietnam News Agency and China's Xinhua News Agency. The two-day Asean Foreign Ministers Retreat, to be held at the Sutera Harbour Resort here, beginning Jan 27, will be the curtain-raiser for the series of ministerial and related meetings under Malaysia's ASEAN chairmanship this year. The ministers retreat is to be preceded by preparatory meetings, namely the Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and the 4th ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on ASEAN Community's Post-2015 Vision. Themed 'Our People, Our Community, Our Vision', Malaysia's vision throughout the chairmanship is the creation of a people-centred ASEAN involving all sectors of society in the grouping's activities. On Jan 1, Malaysia took over the ASEAN chairmanship from Myanmar. Formed on Aug 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, the ASEAN membership expanded to include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. -- BERNAMA