Brunei minister named special envoy to Myanmar

In a joint communique issued after their annual meeting held via video conference, foreign ministers of the ASEAN said yesterday, “We welcomed the appointment by the ASEAN Chair for the Minister of Foreign Affairs II of Brunei Darussalam to be the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, who will start his work in Myanmar, including building trust and confidence with full access to all parties concerned and providing a clear timeline on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus before the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.”

The ministers also “expressed concern over the situation” in Myanmar, “heard calls for the release of political detainees including foreigners” and welcomed the junta’s “acceptance for the timely and complete implementation of the Five-Point Consensus”.

The foreign ministers discussed the matter on Monday, but no appointment was made pending the Myanmar side’s approval. As Myanmar confirmed its acceptance in yesterday’s meeting, the ministers adopted the joint communique yesterday.

Brunei is the current chair country of the 10-member bloc.

The Five-Point Consensus refers to the agreement by ASEAN leaders during a special ASEAN summit on April 24 in Jakarta which called for an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, constructive dialogue among all parties, the appointment of a special ASEAN envoy to facilitate dialogue, the provision of humanitarian assistance, and a visit by the envoy to Myanmar.

The 28-page communique also said that “we also heard calls for the release of political detainees including foreigners”.

The bloc also noted the continued support from external partners for ASEAN’s efforts in the swift and complete implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, particularly on humanitarian assistance. “We reaffirmed the role of ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) to provide humanitarian assistance in Myanmar as mandated in the Five-Point Consensus of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. We encourage the Governing Board of the AHA Centre to immediately start the work on the policy guidance to implement the Five-Point Consensus.”