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.