The 43rd ASEAN ministerial meeting (AMM 43) and a series of other important meetings between ASEAN and its partners will take place in Hanoi from July 16-23.

There will be almost 20 meetings, sideline contacts and 10 discussions between ASEAN ministers and their partners, including the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMCs), the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF 17), the ARF defence officials talks and the ASEAN plus three foreign ministers’ meeting, said Pham Quang Vinh, head of Vietnam’s ASEAN senior official meeting (SOM) delegation, at a press conference in Hanoi on July 8.

Vinh stressed the importance of the annual event, as twenty-seven senior delegates, including 10 ASEAN ministers and ministers from other major economies plus ASEAN’s key partners, will take part.

The foreign ministers of Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste are also scheduled to attend the meetings as guests and special observers of ASEAN, he added.

The meetings will focus on measures to speed up the creation of an ASEAN Community, bring the ASEAN Charter into life, operate the new ASEAN apparatus and enhance links between ASEAN.

The ministers will discuss measures to expand cooperation within the bloc and its partners, increase the effectiveness of regional forums and joint efforts to respond to natural disasters, diseases, economic recovery, climate change, environment, maritime security, food security and energy.

The participants will also discuss measures to ensure sustainable economic recovery and development as well as ASEAN’s contributions to the G-20 process, particularly the preparations for the G20 summit scheduled for November in Seoul, the Republic of Korea.

Additionally, the ministers will compare notes on international and regional issues of common concern.

The AMM 43 is expected to approve a joint statement and a plan to review the first five years of the ASEAN intergovernmental committee on human rights, said Vinh. The ministers are also expected to sign the third protocol amending the region’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).

The ARF 17 will approve Hanoi’s plan of action to carry out the ARF vision statement to 2020, which will create a common cooperation framework in the region./.