EU, ASEAN ministers plan to meet in Laos<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (Reuters): Southeast Asian and European Union foreign
\nministers have agreed to meet in Vientiane, Laos, in December, a
\nsenior Thai official said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"We agreed to hold a meeting in the capital of Laos during
\nDecember 11-12 this year,\" Don Pramudwinai, director-general at
\nthe Thai foreign ministry's information department, told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
Ministers had been due to meet earlier in the year but no
\nsuitable dates could be found.<\/p>\n
Don said the 13th ASEAN-EU ministerial meeting would aim to
\nstrengthen political and economic ties between the two blocs.<\/p>\n
The meeting will be the first since February 1997 when the
\nEuropean Union protested against Myanmar joining the 10-country
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
The issue of human rights in Myanmar had also been tabled for
\ntalks between ASEAN and the EU due on Friday, he added.<\/p>\n
EU officials attending Asian security talks in Bangkok said
\nthey expected a European delegation to visit Myanmar soon,
\npossibly in late September or early October.<\/p>\n
The military government in Yangon has been widely condemned
\nfor crushing democracy and using citizens for forced labor.<\/p>\n
ASEAN also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
\nMalaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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