ASEAN FMs meeting concludes in Bali

Updated: 2011-11-15 21:55

(Xinhua)

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BALI - Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Members States concluded their closed-door meeting at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center Tuesday after discussing the establishment of an institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), Brazil's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The meeting was conducted by ASEAN foreign ministers before the 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related Summits to be held in Bali on November 17-19.

On the establishment of the AIPR, the ministers agreed to submit recommendations on the establishment of the Institute to the leaders at the 19th ASEAN Summit for their consideration and endorsement.

The Institute itself is expected to be officially launched in 2012.

The foreign ministers also discussed the topics of ASEAN Community Development and the Implementation of the ASEAN Charter, including the proposal for an ASEAN Common Visa for Non-ASEAN Nationals.

Regarding the ASEAN Common Visa, they agreed to conduct a study and provide a recommendation on a roadmap for the development of an ASEAN Common Visa.

The ASEAN foreign ministers also had an exchange of views on various regional and international issues, including Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.

After the meeting, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said, "ASEAN now is different from the past.  ... Now we act concretely in facing and solving directly the problem, in the case of Thai-Cambodia border dispute and dramatic changes in Myanmar. For example, we talked directly to find appropriate solution."

Other issues that were also discussed during the meeting were Myanmar's proposal for the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2014, the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human rights (AICHR), and a proposal for regional cooperation on flood disaster relief and recovery.

The ministers also touched on Timor Leste's official application for ASEAN's membership and agreed to refer it to the meeting of the ACC for further procedural consideration.

ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.