India-Asean meet to be held sans Myanmar foreign minister

NEW DELHI:  India will host the Asean Foreign ministers meet on June 16 and 17, without inviting the foreign minister of Myanmar, Wunna Maung Lwin. According to a consensus reached by the Asean members, it has been decided that only the foreign ministers of democratically-elected governments will be invited. However, it is possible to invite an official from the Myanmar government to attend the event.

According to sources, an invite has been sent to Chan Aye, the permanent secretary of the Junta’s foreign ministry, for the event, and also for a senior officials’ meeting that takes place on June 15. The Asean members, it is learnt, feel that the Junta has made no effort to involve the political leadership of Myanmar or work towards cessation of violence.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said Myanmar’s participation would be based on the rules of the group. “India will host the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on June 16 to 17 to mark the 30th anniversary of our dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of our strategic partnership with the ASEAN,” Bagchi told the media.  

This will be the first time that India will host 10 foreign ministers from South East Asia, coinciding with 30 years of India-Asean partnership and 10 years of its strategic partnership with the group, which also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The meeting is expected to provide for discussions on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that was announced in Tokyo during the Quad summit, besides issues of connectivity, investments, supply chains and maritime security. Meanwhile, India on Thursday took part virtually in the Asean Regional Forum Senior Officials Meeting.