Tok Mat: Malaysia hails 58th Foreign Ministers' Meeting success as sign of global trust in Asean

Malay Mail

4 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — The successful hosting of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and related meetings proves that Asean is respected and continues to enjoy the trust of major global powers.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Asean is also increasingly recognised as a peaceful region with a strong and growing economy.
'In addition, many countries are lining up and waiting to sign the TAC (Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia), which is the first step for them to become partners of Asean.
'From five member countries at the beginning, we now have 10, and in October, we will have 11 with the admission of Timor-Leste. More and more countries are applying to become Asean's sectoral and dialogue partners,' he told a press conference on Friday.
Elaborating further, Mohamad said that although Asean currently has a moratorium on accepting new dialogue partners, the grouping would not be overly rigid on the matter.
'There are one or two countries whose applications we must consider, as their admission as dialogue partners would add significant value to Asean. So, we will assess the need for that,' he said.
Meanwhile, on the AMM, Mohamad said 21 meetings involving Asean and its external partners were held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
'Separately, I had 15 bilateral meetings with my counterparts from Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, Palestine, the Philippines, Switzerland, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.
'During all these meetings, we discussed strengthening bilateral relations and international issues of common concern,' he said.
On the admission of Timor-Leste as Asean's 11th member, Mohamad said the Asean foreign ministers took note that work on the procedural steps are underway.
'The AMM also adopted the Guidelines to Facilitate Timor-Leste's Accession to Asean Legal Instruments under the purview of the AMM.
'The AMM encouraged Timor-Leste to take action to accede to the relevant legal instruments as soon as possible,' he added.
On the applications to accede to the TAC, Mohamad said the AMM had reached a decision to approve the applications of Cyprus, Italy and Sweden.
'The ministers agreed for the Asean Secretariat to prepare assessments for the applications of Belgium, Croatia and Lithuania for the consideration of Asean Member States,' he said.
He also emphasised that the ministers had reaffirmed the role of the TAC as a key instrument governing inter-state relations in Southeast Asia and in promoting regional peace and stability.
On Wednesday, Algeria and Uruguay officially acceded to the TAC, marking their formal commitment to the principles of peaceful cooperation and regional harmony enshrined in the treaty.
To date, 57 countries have become parties to the TAC. — Bernama