Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (right) and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Photo: thestar.com.my) KualaLumpur (VNA) - Malaysia’s PrimeMinister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on August 4 highlighted the need for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) toremain united and relevant, saying it is necessary to maintain the bloc’scentral role as a key driving force that is effective and responsive in dealingwith future opportunities and challenges.
In a jointstatement after the 24th Malaysia-Brunei annual leaders' consultation (ALC) inPutrajaya, Malaysia, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continuing to work with ASEAN dialogue partners and maintain ASEAN's outward-looking approachbased on mutual interest and benefit to further advance ASEAN'sCommunity-building efforts.
They alsodiscussed the recent developments in Myanmar, calling on Myanmar to fullyimplement the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), and reiterated the unified positionthat the 5PC remains ASEAN's main reference to address the political crisis inMyanmar, said the statement.
Both leadersreaffirmed their commitment to working closely within ASEAN and other externalpartners, including the United Nations to encourage progress in theimplementation of the 5PC in its entirety, in line with the ASEAN Leaders'decision at the 42nd ASEAN Summit, with the goal of finding a peaceful anddurable solution for the interest of the people of Myanmar.
SultanHasanal Bolkiah and his consort, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha, paid a three-day state visit to Malaysia from August 2-4./.
