The ASEAN+3 Senior Official Meeting opened in Phnom Penh , Cambodia on May 25.
The meeting aims to step up cooperation between ASEAN member countries
with the Association’s dialogue partners- China , Japan and the
Republic of Korea .
The meeting’s agenda focused
on the implementation of the ASEAN+3 Action Plan in the 2007-2012
period, ASEAN+3 connectivity, the Chiang Mai Initiative
Multilateralisation Agreement, preparations for the ASEAN+3 Foreign
Ministers Meeting in July this year and the 21 st ASEAN Summit and
other summits.
According to Secretary of State of
the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Soeung Rathchavy, who is also
chairwoman of the meeting, the ASEAN dialogue partners expressed their
belief that ASEAN will complete its target of building the ASEAN
Community by 2015.
They also pledged to continue supporting the Association’s central role in resolving regional issues, Rathchavy said.
Participants selected Siem Reap in Cambodia as the East Asian cultural
city in the year of cultural tourism promotion and to mark the 15 th
anniversary of the ASEAN+3 dialogue mechanism.-VNA