PHNOM PENH: Foreign Ministry spokesman CHUM Sounry has told EAC News that all ASEAN members states have confirmed their attendance for the upcoming ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Cambodia, with the exception of Myanmar who has not yet confirmed if they will be sending representatives or not. Meanwhile, representatives from Thailand and Brunei will join the meeting online.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat will be held in Cambodia from 15-17 February 2022 in Phnom Penh in hybrid format – both in person and online. The meeting will be chaired by Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn.

ASEAN Member States previously did not agree to invite the Myanmar military government’s Foreign Minister to the meeting due to the country’s lack of progress in implementing the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. That being said, Myanmar was still encouraged to send non-political representatives instead.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn will brief the Foreign Ministers on the important goals to be achieved during Cambodia's ASEAN chairmanship under the theme "ASEAN A.C.T: Addressing Challenges Together” to respond to the strategic challenges that are emerging in the region, including the effective control of Covid-19 and the subsequent socioeconomic rehabilitation process, geopolitical competition, and strengthening ASEAN centrality and resilience.

So far, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Saleumxay Kommasith, have confirmed that they will lead a delegation to pay an official visit to Cambodia and attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat this week.