Monday, July 24 2006 17:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kuala Lumpur: ASEAN foreign ministers started arriving here today (July 24, 2006) to attend their annual meetings to be opened on Tuesday.

The senior officials of the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) will finish their three-day meetings Monday at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center to prepare agendas and finalise the joint communique to be deliberated by the foreign ministers during the plenary session of the 39th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM).

The theme for the 39th AMM is "Forging a United, Resilient and Integrated ASEAN", reflecting the strong resolve and desire of ASEAN member countries to forge ahead towards achieving its common goal of the ASEAN Community.

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

According to a statement issued by Malaysia Foreign Ministry, the ASEAN foreign ministers during their one-day meeting will review ASEAN's progress and achievements over the past year, including the follow-up to the decisions made by the ASEAN heads of states/governments at the 11th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Kuala Lumpur on December 12-14, 2005.

The ASEAN foreign ministers are also scheduled to meet their counterparts from all 10 Dialogue Partners as well as those from Bangladesh, Mongolia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste at the 13th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on Friday.

Bangladesh will participate for the first time as the 26th member of the ARF.

The Foreign Minister of France will be invited to Kuala Lumpur to sign on behalf of the Government of France the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) on Friday.

France will be the eleventh country outside the ASEAN region to sign the TAC after Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Russia.

The treaty represents a code of conduct governing relations between countries in the region for the promotion of peace, security and stability in the region.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to arrive in the Malaysian capital for the ASEAN-US dialogue and ARF meetings, which follow the AMM and PMC.