ASEAN to try to narrow development gap

ASEAN to try to narrow development gap

BANGKOK (Reuters): Southeast Asian foreign ministers will agree to try to narrow the development gap between their countries at their annual meeting in Hanoi later this month, Thailand said on Wednesday.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry said Bangkok also planned to propose the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) work more closely with neighbors China, Japan and South Korea to fight the illegal drugs trade.

The 34th annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting from July 23-24 will be followed by a meeting of the security-focused ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Topics on the ARF agenda, which involves ASEAN's dialogue partners including the United States and China, include tension on the Korean peninsula and international crime.

Foreign ministers from all 10 ASEAN member nations are due to attend the Hanoi meeting. The theme this year is: "ASEAN: United, Stable, Integrated and Outward Looking."

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

The ARF comprises the ASEAN 10, the 15-member European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, North and South Korea, Australia, Canada, India, Mongolia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to represent the United States at the talks.