Ex-ASEAN chief to represent Manila

Ex-ASEAN chief to represent Manila

INDONESIA: Former ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino will represent the Philippines as a special envoy in ministerial meetings in Jakarta this week, Filipino officials said on Monday.

He will represent Manila in meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in lieu of Philippine Foreign Secretary Delia Albert.

Albert will arrive in the Indonesian capital later in the week after attending the swearing-in of President-elect Gloria Arroyo on June 30.

Foreign ministers from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will hold their annual ministerial meeting on Wednesday. -- AFP