ID :
355173
Mon, 01/26/2015 - 09:28
Auther :

200 Delegates Expected For Asean Foreign Ministers Retreat In Kota Kinabalu

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), Jan 26 (Bernama) -- About 200 delegates from 10 South-East Asian nations are expected to attend the ASEAN Foreign Minister's Retreat and other preparatory meetings at the Magellan Sutera Harbour Resort here, from Jan 26-29. According to an official from the registration and accreditation sub-committee of Logistics Secretariat for ASEAN 2015, besides foreign ministers and senior officials, others scheduled to participate are ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh and permanent representatives of member countries to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Malaysia's delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, who is scheduled to host the welcoming dinner in honour of his ASEAN counterparts and delegates, next Tuesday. "The retreat is a preparation towards Malaysia hosting the ASEAN Summit in April and November in Kuala Lumpur," said the official. She added registration for the retreat had been conducted online from Dec 15 to Jan 19, and received overwhelming response even after the closing date. "Even today (Sunday), we received new registration as there are last-minute inclusions and amendments," she noted. The retreat on Jan 26-27, is the first in a series of ASEAN Meetings under Malaysia's ASEAN chairmanship this year. Malaysia assumed the ASEAN chairmanship on Jan 1, taking over from Myanmar. The ministers retreat will 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. ASEAN groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. During the retreat, ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to discuss the priorities of ASEAN for 2015 and the ASEAN Community's Post-2015 Vision. -- BERNAMA

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