Cambodia Postpones ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting Until Further Notice

Cambodia, the 2022 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will postpone a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers scheduled for January 18-19 until further notice, Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th January, 2022) Cambodia, the 2022 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will postpone a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers scheduled for January 18-19 until further notice, Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said on Wednesday.

The meeting was supposed to take place in person in Cambodia's Siem Reap.

"The postponement is made due to travel problems and some (foreign) ministers, have had urgent works to deal with," Kuong was cited as saying by the national media Cambodianess.

He added that the new date of the meeting will be determined when all the ministers are available. Meanwhile, the official refused to answer whether the meeting could be held in by videoconference.

The decision to postpone the ASEAN meeting came shortly after a controversial visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Myanmar on Friday, where he held talks with Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing. According to the joint press release, the sides discussed the humanitarian and security situation in the country, reiterating the importance of an enduring peace in Myanmar.�

The main reason for the postponement is presumably a disagreement among ASEAN members on the situation in Myanmar or Cambodia's invitation of Myanmar's representative to the meeting, since the legitimacy of Hlaing's government, which seized power through military coup, remains in dispute.�

Kuong declined to comment on these speculations.