Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah is leading the Malaysian delegation to the 51st Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting/Post Ministerial Conferences and Related Meetings (51st AMM/PMC) from July 30 to Aug 4 in Singapore.

“This will be his first participation at an Asean meeting since assuming the portfolio of foreign minister,” said the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Malaysia, in a statement today.

Saifuddin will be accompanied by his wife, senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to Asean in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The 51st AMM will be preceded by several preparatory meetings at the senior officials’ level.

The Asean foreign ministers will discuss issues related to the Asean Community, implementation of the Asean Political-Security Blueprint 2025, Asean’s future direction as well as preparation for the 33rd Asean Summit and Related Summits, scheduled to be held in November.

The foreign ministers will also discuss and exchange views on matters relating to regional and international issues of common interest such as developments in the South China Sea, the situation in the Rakhine state, the Korean Peninsula, counter terrorism and violent extremism, maritime security as well as other non-traditional security issues.

In addition, Saifuddin and other Asean foreign ministers will also attend the Post-Ministerial Conferences with Asean dialogue partners namely Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

Malaysia is the country coordinator for the Asean-US Dialogue Relations for the 2015-2018 term.

Saifuddin and Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, will co-chair the Asean-US Ministerial Meeting on Aug 3, 2018.

Following the 51st AMM/PMC, Malaysia will be the country coordinator of the Asean-Australia Dialogue Relations for the 2018-2021 term.

The Asean foreign ministers will also participate in the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty Commission meeting, the 19th Asean Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the 8th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the 25th Asean Regional Forum.

Saifuddin is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his Asean counterparts and dialogue partners at the sidelines of the AMM/PMC to discuss and strengthen cooperation on strategic issues of common concern.

At the conclusion of the 51st AMM/PMC, the foreign ministers are expected to adopt a number of outcome documents, including the 51st AMM’s Joint Communiqué which will highlight the discussions as well as strategic and important decisions made during the meetings.

The Asean foreign ministers are scheduled to witness the signing ceremony of the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia by Argentina and Iran.

The TAC serves as a key code of conduct for inter-state relations in Southeast Asia, with the main aim of promoting peace and security in the region.

-Bernama