44th ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting to kick off

SIEM REAP, Cambodia - The 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting and related meetings are ready to kick off here Monday, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said Sunday. ?

"Everything is in place and the 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting and related meetings will be opened by Prime Minister Hun Sen tomorrow," he told reporters after playing golf with some of ASEAN Economic Ministers at Angkor Golf Resort.

"The meeting will discuss topics related to trade liberalization and economic cooperation among the 10 ASEAN member states, and the cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue countries," he said.

Besides the 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting, there will be meetings of the 26th ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) Council and the 15th ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) Council.

In addition, there will be a consultation meeting between ASEAN Economic Ministers and Francis Gurry, director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the ASEAN-US Business Summit as well as Cambodia's Garment and Textile Expo, according to the official schedule.

According to a report of the media sub-committee, more than 150 journalists from some 20 local media entities and 32 international ones will cover the upcoming events.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.