Foreign Ministers Meet In East Asia Forum In Phnom Penh

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- Foreign Minister Anifah Aman on Thursday attended the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting (EAS-FMM) and Asean Regional Forum (ARF) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Finance, global pandemics, education, disaster management, energy and Asean connectivity were diccussed during the plenary of EAS-FMM, said a statement from the foreign ministry Friday. Many countries spoke of the specific initiatives that they have undertaken, which include the initiative to address the threat of drug resistant malaria that has emerged, and security issues in the South China Sea. Anifah told the forum that Malaysia was preparing the Plan of Action of Global Movement of the Moderates (GMM) which would contain detailed action to be undertaken at the national, regional and international levels with the Asean Secretariat. He said Malaysia had established the GMM Foundation to identify National Focus Points which would spearhead GMM-related efforts and encouraged other EAS member states to do the same. Meanwhile, during the ARF retreat, the 27 foreign minister members of the forum exchanged views on the security challenges faced by the region. Anifah expressed Malaysia's concern with the situation in Syria where violence resulted in the deaths of many innocent lives. "While the attention of the world is on the situation in Syria, the international community should recognise that it is the Palestinian question that has the greater global impact. "It is critical that steps should be taken in this direction. Most importantly, Israel should recognise that with the advent of the Arab Spring, the dynamics in the Middle East have changed, and that Israel should change with it," he stressed. The foreign ministers also discussed the situation in the Korean Peninsula to exercise caution and called for the early resumption of the six-party talks. The situation in the South China Sea was also addressed, and they hoped that disputes in the area would be peacefully resolved, in accordance with the principles of international law. They also commended Myanmar for its progress in the transition to democracy and called on countries which imposed sanctions on Myammar to lift them. -- BERNAMA