On 27 May 2009, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave a press briefing following the Informal ASEAN Ministers’ Meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia in preparation for the 17th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting. Gist of the briefing as follows:
1. Following the 17th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting, a joint statement will be issued reviewing progress of the relationship, the dialogue on current economic and political issues and the future direction of cooperation.
2. The ministers had agreed that in the future, the Asia-Europe and ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meetings should not be held in consecutive but alternate years so that foreign ministers from both regions can meet every year instead of every other year.
3. There is a possibility that a statement will be issued on North Korea (DPRK) following the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit on the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-ROK relations at Jeju Island during 1-2 June 2009. However, this will depend on the latest developments.
4. Foreign Minister Kasit had informed the ministers on the decision of the Thai Government to host the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the Post Ministerial Conferences and the ASEAN Regional Forum (AMM / PMC / ARF) from 16-23 July 2009 and the 15th ASEAN Summit from 23-25 October 2009 at Phuket.
5. On Myanmar, Foreign Minister Kasit said that the ministers had expressed support for the Chairman’s Statement issued by Thailand. They agreed that the statement did not interfere or infringe on the sovereignty of Myanmar. In addition, they emphasized that ASEAN is like a family, where anything happening with one member will affect the other members. He also said that ASEAN foreign ministers had expressed concern over Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest all along. Therefore, mentioning this matter is nothing new although the latest experiences show mounting concern. He also emphasized that the differences of opinion on this issue will not affect the overall relationship between Thailand and Myanmar.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th