ASEAN lawmakers to meet in Yogya

YOGYAKARTA: Lawmakers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will convene for a two-day meeting in Yogyakarta on Thursday to discuss establishing an ASEAN antipoverty bank and combating drug abuse.

House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, in his capacity as president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO), is scheduled to officially open the meeting on Thursday.

Some 70 delegates and ambassadors from the 10 ASEAN member countries are expected to attend the meeting.

The meeting aims at increasing the interparliamentary cooperation among ASEAN member countries, which are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

"The meeting will also study, discuss and propose solutions to various problems faced by member countries," a statement released by the organizing committee said on Wednesday.

The organizing committee has also scheduled tours to nearby tourist destinations such as the Kasongan ceramics center and Borobudur Temple. --JP