ASEAN to meet allies in Bangkok

ASEAN to meet allies in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Reuters): Foreign ministers of the 10-member
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold their
33rd annual meeting in Bangkok on July 24-25, a Thai foreign
ministry official said on Tuesday.

The ministers' meeting will be followed by talks with the
group's nine dialogue partners and the European Union, the
official said.

The ASEAN ministers will discuss regional and bilateral issues
with their counterparts from the EU, Australia, Canada, China,
India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United
States on July 26-29.

ASEAN and the EU also plan to hold a ministerial meeting in
Laos in October or November, their first since February 1997 when
the EU protested against Myanmar's inclusion in ASEAN.