Two key Asean meetings to kick off in Jakarta

PUTRAJAYA: A delegation to the 32nd Asean Coordinating Council (ACC) Meeting and Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) in Indonesia will be led by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

The Foreign Ministry said Indonesia – which helms the Asean Chairmanship for 2023 with the theme “Asean Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” – is expected to brief the meetings on its proposed key priorities and deliverables for this year.

Other issues that are expected to be discussed at the two events – to be held in Jakarta today and tomorrow – are updates on the implementation of the decisions reached during the 40th and 41st Asean Summits in November last year, the ministry added in a statement yesterday.

“These include the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, Timor Leste’s application for Asean membership, Asean’s capacity and institutional effectiveness, external relations, as well as the exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

“The meetings will provide Malaysia and other Asean member states with an excellent opportunity to further strengthen Asean’s efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient community, against the backdrop of the compounding challenges of geopolitical dynamics, inflationary pressures, as well as food and energy crises,” said Wisma Putra.

In line with the decision of the 40th Asean Summit, Timor-Leste will be participating in the meetings as observer, according to Bernama.

Zambry will also hold meetings with some of his counterparts to discuss strengthening bilateral relations.