Foreign ministers and delegates from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Vientiane, Laos on Tuesday. Laos’ top diplomat highlighted that a ‘concerted effort’ is needed among the 10-member nation regional bloc, which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Our meeting is held when the region and the world continue to face with a rapidly changing and complex geopolitical and geo-economic landscape that presents both opportunity and challenges,” said Saleumxay Kommasith, the Laos Foreign Affairs Minister, in his opening remarks at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Oct. 8. The meeting is a part of the 44th ASEAN Summit Oct. 6-11.

Myanmar has sent regime Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Aung Kyaw Moe to the meeting despite regime leader Min Aung Hlaing being banned from ASEAN for not adhering to its Five-Point Consensus, which calls for an end to all violence, the release of political prisoners – including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint – as well as dialogue between the military and anti-coup resistance forces.

REUTERS