YANGON: The first coordination meeting of the Asean Affairs Committee was held at the Chaturanga Bala Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday (Oct 13).
The meeting was attended by Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe, chairman of the Asean Affairs Committee; Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Naing Min Kyaw, vice-chairman of the committee; and members and representatives from the Ministry of the President’s Office, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Information, and Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.
In his opening remarks, Union Minister U Than Swe said that although Asean had discriminated against Myanmar since 2021, Myanmar, as a responsible Asean member state, had made every possible effort to implement the Asean Five-Point Consensus without compromising the country’s sovereignty and national interests.
He said Myanmar had established a committee to facilitate engagement and cooperation with Asean, in addition to maintaining regular contacts with the regional bloc.
Although Myanmar had faced discriminatory treatment from Asean since 2021, the country had, as a responsible member state, made every possible effort to implement the Five-Point Consensus in line with the five-point roadmap adopted under the then State Administration Council, while safeguarding Myanmar’s sovereignty and national interests, he added.
The Union Minister also said that Myanmar was engaging with ASEAN member states individually according to its priorities.
Following his remarks, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Naing Min Kyaw, vice-chairman of the committee, explained the measures taken to implement each point of the Asean Five-Point Consensus in line with the government’s roadmap.
During the meeting, representatives discussed and exchanged views on approaches that Myanmar could lead and develop in its own way to restore the country’s original role and rights within Asean, based on the current bilateral relations between Myanmar and Asean member states. - Eleven Media/ANN
