PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Oct 25 (NNN-Bernama) — Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will lead the Malaysian delegation to the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits scheduled from Oct 26 to 28 via video conferencing.
Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) in a statement on Monday said the Prime Minister will be accompanied by the Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali, as well as senior government officials.
“Malaysia’s participation at the ASEAN Summits reflects its unwavering commitment to ASEAN amidst the region grappling with challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic,” it said.
During the 38th ASEAN Summit, leaders are expected to discuss the future direction of ASEAN and its community-building efforts as well as ASEAN key initiatives on COVID-19 Response.
In addition, at the 39th ASEAN Summit, the leaders will exchange views on external relations, regional and international issues of common concern, the statement said.
According to Wisma Putra, the ASEAN leaders will also participate in the ASEAN Plus One Summits with Leaders from Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, United States, along with ASEAN Plus Three Summit and East Asia Summit (EAS).
During the side meetings – the 14th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area Summit (BIMP-EAGA Summit) and the 13th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Summit (13th IMT-GT Summit) on Oct 28 – Ismail Sabri will be accompanied by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed. The Prime Minister is expected to chair the 13th IMT-GT Summit.
The theme of the summits under Brunei Darussalam Chairmanship of ASEAN for 2021 is “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper”.
— NNN-BERNAMA