All eyes on Laos as ASEAN meetings begin in Vientiane

All eyes on Laos as ASEAN meetings begin in Vientiane Vientiane, July 24 (IANS) The ASEAN Foreign Ministers had an Interface with the representatives of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, on Wednesday. ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn attended the interface, which saw candid exchanges between the ministers and the AICHR representatives on human rights in the region. The annual AICHR report was also submitted to the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting for notation. The Secretary-General of ASEAN also held bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) on Wednesday, aiming to exchange views on the latest developments happening around the world as well as to explore new ideas on how to further strengthen and broaden cooperation and partnership towards realising the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and beyond. In his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos Saleumxay Kommasith, Secretary-General Kao reaffirmed the ASEAN Secretariat's readiness to support Laos in realising its ASEAN Chairmanship's priorities and deliverables this year under the theme 'ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience'. In his second bilateral meeting, Kao met with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, Aung Kyaw Moe. Both sides discussed the ongoing work of ASEAN in its community-building efforts. The 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) is scheduled from Wednesday to Sunday (July 24-28) while Laos will also host the ASEAN Post Ministerial conferences, the 25th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the 14th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the 31st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will also be participating in the Foreign Ministers' Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format of ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit(EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), starting Thursday. --IANS rs/as