Phnom Penh (FN), Jan. 22 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen proposed the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) to discuss two initiatives regarding Myanmar crisis.

The premier spoke in a telephone conversation with Indonesian president Joko Widodo on 21 January 2022.

The two initiatives are as follows:

1. The Establishment of the ASEAN Troika Mechanism, with Brunei as former ASEAN chair, Cambodia as current chair and Indonesia as future chair, as well as the ASEAN secretary general, to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the five-point consensus. This mechanism and the ASEAN chair's special envoy will have a group of observers composing of diplomats from the nine embassies of ASEAN countries, operating in Myanmar to support the implementation of the consensus. Having observer group is an Indonesian initiative supported by Cambodia.

2. The consultation meeting to discuss humanitarian assistance and vaccination program without discrimination for the people of Myanmar. The premier also supported Brunei's initiative to form the "Friends of Myanmar" group to support the work of ASEAN and Myanmar.

Regarding the Rohingya’s issue, the premier informed the Indonesian president that we should consider pushing their repatriation from Bangladesh to Myanmar with safety, speediness and dignity as discussed during the recent telephone conversation between Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn and honourable foreign minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh A.K. Abdul Momen, M.P.

President Joko Widodo thanked the premier Hun Sen for establishing the ASEAN Torika initiative as a step forward in the implementation of the five-point consensus and supported the establishment of an observer group to ensure the effectiveness in carrying out the works.
=FRESH NEWS