East Asian foreign ministers meet in Malaysia
East Asian foreign ministers meet in Malaysia
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur
Foreign ministers and business leaders from East Asia will meet in Kuala Lumpur on Monday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in a region eyeing the creation of an expanded economic grouping.
Foreign ministers from Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore, as well as Japan's senior vice foreign minister and former prime minister Tsutomo Hata have confirmed their attendance, the Bernama news agency said.
Malaysia's former premier Mahathir Mohamad and former president of South Korea Kim Dae-jung are also expected to attend.
The one-day conference will discuss "Political and Security Cooperation" and "Economic and Financial Cooperation" in East Asia.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is scheduled to deliver a keynote address.
The forum, first held in South Korea last year, aims to enhance cooperation between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan, South Korea and China as part of a move towards an East Asian Community.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Malaysia notched up a victory at an ASEAN summit in Laos last week when it overcame initial objections from Indonesia to achieve a 15-year dream of hosting an East Asian summit when it takes over the ASEAN chairmanship next year.
The summit would include ASEAN members and Japan, China and South Korea, with the participation of India, Australia and New Zealand still under discussion.
The East Asian Summit will be the realization of a 1990 proposal by then-premier Mahathir for an East Asian Economic Caucus.
The proposal failed to take off because of opposition from the United States which feared it would undermine the 21-member Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Analysts and diplomats have said a more formal East Asian Summit could replace the ASEAN Plus Three framework and underscore the region's seriousness in pursuing a goal to achieve a European Union-style single market and community by 2020.