Yogyakarta - ASEAN senior officials on Monday began a series of meetings to discuss a wide range of current issues ahead of the 18th ASEAN Summit to be held in Jakarta on May 7-8.
Some 30 senior officials from 10 ASEAN member countries are taking part in the meetings consisting of a joint preparatory meeting and related meetings.
"It is for the first time ever Yogyakarta hosts an ASEAN senior officials meetings. I hope the meetings will proceed smoothly," Director General of ASEAN Cooperation at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry Djauhari Oratmangun said.
The meetings include Senior Officials Meeting (SOM), Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) and Senior Officials` Committee for the ASEAN Sosio-Cultural Community Council (SOCA) Meeting.
"I hope the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere in Yogyakarta will give spirit to each of the meetings so there will be no heated discussions," he said.
The chiefs of SOM, SEOM and SOCA would later engage in a meeting to discuss substantive preparations related to the final document of the 18th ASEAN Summit, he said.
The Yogyakarta meetings were expected to issue recommendations to ASEAN ministers in charge of political, security, economic and socio-cultural affairs, he said.
"These all are aimed at helping create an ASEAN Community by 2015," he said.
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
source : antaranews.com
