Foreign Minister Retno Welcomes Foreign Minister ASEAN Ahead Of AMM In Jakarta

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (right) welcomes the arrival of ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn before the 56th Meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of ASEAN (AMM) in Jakarta, Tuesday (11/7/2023)/ANTARA PHOTO/M Risyal Hidayat/hp.

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Tuesday welcomed the arrival of the Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ahead of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Jakarta.

Reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 11, ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hour arrived early, followed by Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A. Manalo, Timorese Foreign Minister Leste BenditoFreitas, Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, and Brunei Foreign Minister Darussalam Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof.

Of the 10 ASEAN member countries, only Myanmar was not present at the meeting, following the regional organization's decision to continue to exclude Myanmar's political representatives in various high-level meetings due to the attitude of the junta which has not implemented the Five-Point Consensus.

The Five-Point consensus is a decision agreed by ASEAN leaders and Myanmar junta leaders General Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021 to help the country get out of the political crisis.

The consensus calls for, among others, the cessation of violence, dialogue with all stakeholders, and the provision of humanitarian aid to Myanmar.

The AMM series, which was followed by a meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers with partner countries, was held in Jakarta on July 10-14.

The activity consisted of a total of 18 meetings, including meetings to discuss Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Areas (SEANWFZ), meetings with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights (AICHR), AMM in a plenary session (plenary) format, and a review session (retreat).

Then, the meeting continued with a meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers with dialogue partner countries, namely India, New Zealand, Russia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, the UK, Canada, and the United States, as well as ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the East Asian Summit (EAS), as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The ASEAN Foreign Minister's meeting will discuss a number of issues, including the Myanmar and South China Sea crises.

Indonesia as chairman of ASEAN this year has set the theme ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth with a focus on directing cooperation to strengthen ASEAN's relevance in responding to regional and global challenges and strengthening ASEAN's position as the center of economic growth in the region.