KOTA TINGGI: Desaru, located near Bandar Penawar, near here, has begun receiving Asean delegations from home and abroad.
The resort, which is famous for its rows of luxury hotels and beautiful beaches, is the focus of the Asean community when it hosts the 31st Asean Economic Ministers' (AEM) Retreat on Feb 28.
Apart from the AEM Retreat, the 12th Working Group-Asean Economic Community (WG-AEC) Meeting is being held on Feb 22 and 23 while the 47th High Level Task Force-Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) Meeting will be on Feb 24 and 25 and the Preparatory Senior Economic Officer Meeting (SEOM) for the 31st AEM Retreat will be on Feb 26 and 27.
The arrival of Asean delegations to this area is expected to continue building up throughout the duration of the retreat, thus raising the profile of this resort in Asean.
In addition, the local community and surrounding areas are also expected to receive economic benefits from the arrival of the Asean delegation for the meeting.
The AEM Retreat is held in conjunction with Malaysia's Asean chairmanship, which is themed "Inclusivity and Sustainability" to reflect Malaysia's aspirations in contributing towards strengthening an inclusive and sustainable Asean community.
Among Malaysia's main agenda as Asean chairman is to increase intra-Asean trade and investment as well as spearhead efforts to explore and expand economic cooperation and partnerships outside the Asean region. - Bernama
