Turkish FM to attend ASEAN meeting in Manila

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will pay an official visit to the Philippines. Çavuşoğlu will attend the 50th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on August 4-6, under the ASEAN Term Presidency of the Philippines, upon the invitation from his Philippine counterpart Alan Peter S. Cayetano.

The Foreign Ministers/Deputy Foreign Ministers of a total of 27 countries including 10 ASEAN Member States, 10 ASEAN Dialogue Partners (EU, USA, Australia, PR China, Republic of Korea, India, Japan, Canada, Russian Federation, New Zealand) and countries of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will be present at the meetings. Çavuşoğlu will also have bilateral meetings with his counterparts in the scope of the event.

The statement on the website of the Foreign Ministry reads:

“Turkey took the decision to establish institutional relations with ASEAN in 1999, in line with the Association’s increasing role in the region, and acceded to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (ASEAN/TAC) in 2010 during the 43th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Vietnam. Turkey was also invited for the first time to the ASEAN Summit and ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as the special guest of ASEAN Term President Brunei in 2013. Lastly, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu participated in the 48th ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in August 2015 upon the invitation of ASEAN Term President Malaysia.”