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.