SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will be attending a special Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday (Dec 22) in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.
The meeting, which will be chaired by ASEAN Chair Malaysia, is part of the bloc’s efforts to promote peace and stability in the region, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Monday.
“Singapore remains deeply concerned with the situation along the Thai-Cambodia border,” said MFA.
“We welcome the efforts of the ASEAN Chair, external partners, as well as any bilateral mechanisms that both Cambodia and Thailand agree upon, to de-escalate the conflict in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity and good neighbourliness,” the ministry added.
Dr Balakrishnan will be accompanied by MFA officials.
Chaired by Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, Monday’s special meeting is a follow-up to the agreement made by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his counterparts from Thailand and Cambodia on Dec 11.
Malaysia currently holds the chair of ASEAN, a role that the Philippines will assume in January.