ASEAN to meet in Myanmar

ASEAN to meet in Myanmar

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo will attend the first meeting of ASEAN's economic ministers with their counterparts from China, Japan, and South Korea in Yangoon, the government said Saturday.

The two-day meeting will kick off on May 1 with an informal exchange of views among the 10 ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

A report by a task force studying the feasibility of a free trade area between ASEAN and Australia and New Zealand will also be presented, the statement said.

ASEAN's meeting with economic ministers from China, Japan and South Korea will discuss areas of cooperation ranging from agriculture to technology, it added.

ASEAN groups the countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.