Chinese FM to visit Laos, Myanmar and attend ASEAN meetings
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-07-19 21:04

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing is to visit Laos and Myanmar and attend a series of ASEAN meetings in Vientiane, capital of Laos.

Chinese Foreign Minister spokesman Kong Quan announced here Tuesday that Li will be in Vientiane to attend three meetings of the foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners from July 26 to August 1.

These include the foreign ministers meeting between ASEAN and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (10+3), the Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) between ASEAN and its dialogue partners and the foreign ministers meeting of the 12th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The 10 members of ASEAN hold a meeting of foreign ministers annually to formulate policy guidelines and coordinate the activities of the organization. This year's ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) will be held in Vientiane.

After the AMM, ASEAN foreign ministers will meet with their counterparts from the three Northeast Asian dialogue partners of ASEAN, including China, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan.

The Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) will take place after the AMM between ASEAN and its 10 dialogue partners, including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, ROK and the United States. The PMC includes a plenary session (10+10) and separate individual sessions between ASEAN and each dialogue partner (10+1). The PMC serves as a venue to promote better understanding on various regional and international political and economic issues of common concern.

Following the above two meetings, the foreign ministers of the ASEAN members and dialogue partners will attend the 12th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). High officials from Papua New Guinea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and East Timor will also be present at the forum for consultations.

The forum, initiated in 1993, serves as a multilateral consultative forum aimed at promoting preventive diplomacy and confidence building among the nations in the region.

After attending the meetings, Li Zhaoxing will also pay official visits to Laos and Myanmar, the spokesman said.

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