Bangladesh officially admitted into ASEAN Regional Forum

Adv: With correction in para 2. Pls read Friday instead of Thursday

Dhaka, July 28 (BDNEWS) – Bangladesh has been officially admitted into the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The admission was made at the inaugural session of the Ministerial Meeting of ARF in Kuala Lumpur Friday. Appreciating the admission, Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, who is leading Bangladesh delegation at the meeting, thanked all the members for their support to Bangladesh's admission into the ARF. He also strongly condemned the Israeli aggression and killing of innocent civilians and called upon the international community to take urgent steps for resolving the crisis in Lebanon and occupied territories. Turning his attention to the security concerns, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister highlighted various issues such as disarmament, non-proliferation of small arms and terrorism stressing the need for international cooperation on these issues. He offered to share with the participating countries Bangladesh's extensive experience as the world's leading troop contributor to the UN peacekeeping operation. He laid a particular emphasis on disaster management, suggesting that best practices developed in Bangladesh could help regional countries in dealing with natural disasters. Morshed Khan assured that Bangladesh's participation in the Forum would contribute towards strengthening the cause of peace and security in the Asia Pacific region. The 13th ARF Meeting concluded with the issuance of a statement by the Chairman. It stressed on the urgency of ceasefire in the Middle East. The statement dealt with the Korean nuclear situation and welcomed the convening of Inter-Korean talks. The ARF welcomed the continued engagement of ASEAN with Myanmar, calling for lifting of restrictions and effective dialogue with all parties. Other matters dealt with in the meeting included the Iraq situation, terrorism and maritime security. Earlier at a breakfast meeting on the Middle East crisis, convened by the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Morshed Khan strongly condemned the Israeli aggression and the killing of innocent civilians. He called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire followed by dialogue to resolve the crisis. He stressed the need for ensuring access of humanitarian assistance to the affected areas. He also condemned the killing of unarmed UN observers. Apart from Bangladesh and Malaysia, Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Pakistan attended the meeting. The Iranian Foreign Minister also attended on a special invitation. The ministers issued a strong statement condemning Israeli action and called for immediate ceasefire. The Foreign Minister held a separate meeting on the sidelines with his counterpart from China where they discussed bilateral and other issues of mutual concern. Referring to China as a traditional friend, the FM stressed on the need for better connection between the two countries to further enhance bilateral cooperation. Chinese FM thanked Bangladesh for her initiative for the observer status of China in SAARC. Bangladesh FM also held a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Philippines. Bangladesh became the 26th member of the ARF, which was established in 1994. ARF deals with issues concerning the security of the Asia-Pacific region. It comprises 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), said a press release. BDNEWS/1856 hrs