ASEAN meetings are expensive: Lao PM

ASEAN meetings are expensive: Lao PM

LAOS: Lao Prime Minister Bounnhang Vorachith Wednesday warned the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that it was holding too many meetings which were proving too expensive.

"There is currently a proliferation of the ASEAN meetings which has led to the overstretch of manpower and financial resources," he told delegates at the opening of an ASEAN meeting for economic ministers here.

Separate ASEAN talkfests for prime ministers, foreign ministers, economic ministers and lower ranking officials plus forums involving countries from India to Australia and China, are routine events.

"In this regard, an alternative should be introduced in order to reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness for our fora," Bounnhang said.

"Meetings can now be conducted through electronic devices or video conferences, which I think would be more cost effective."

Laos is among the poorest members of ASEAN and has borne the costs of holding the ASEAN chair over the last 12-months. Other members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Bounnchang's complaint came as Australia took the unusual step of agreeing to foot the bill for the poorest members of ASEAN -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar -- to attend a round of ASEAN-FTA talks in Canberra in October. -- AFP