Malaysian FM Attends ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat in The Philippines

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- Foreign Minister Anifah Aman is leading the Malaysian delegation to the two-day ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat which began Monday in the Philippines, Wisma Putra (the Foreign Ministry) said. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that the AMM Retreat in Boracay would provide the opportunity for the ASEAN foreign ministers to discuss ASEAN's external relations and to follow up on the implementation of decisions made by ASEAN in its previous summits. They would also exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern as well as the means to enhance ASEAN's relations with its dialogue partners, it said. "This is the first meeting where the Philippines will elaborate the priorities of its Chairmanship of ASEAN 2017 with the theme 'Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.' "This is an important meeting which would shape ASEAN's strategy in community-building efforts as well as discuss ways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN," the ministry said. It said the AMM Retreat was preceded by several important meetings, namely Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and the ASEAN Senior Officals' Meeting. The retreat would involve the participation of foreign ministers and senior officials of the ASEAN countries, the ASEAN Secretary-General and the permanent representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, said Wisma Putra. -- BERNAMA