Thailand to host ASEAN-EU meeting

Thailand to host ASEAN-EU meeting

BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand will next month host high-level talks between ASEAN and the European Union canceled amid acrimony last year because of a row over Myanmar's participation, officials said on Tuesday.

The meeting of the ASEAN-EU Joint Committee, due to have been held last November, will take place between Jan. 24 and 26, Thai foreign ministry officials said.

Plans for last year's talks were pitched into turmoil following the admission of Laos and Myanmar to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last July.

Foreign ministers from EU states resumed links with ASEAN in October when they agreed Myanmar could join the committee as an observer.

At the same time, the EU approved a package of stronger sanctions against the country's military government, which is accused of rampant human rights abuses. The package included a ban on visas being issued to Myanmar officials.