Minister of Foreign Affairs, M.U.M. Ali Sabry is scheduled to travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to take part in the forthcoming 29th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting from 4 to 5 August, 2022.

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is composed of 27 members, consisting of 10 ASEAN member states, Dialogue Partners, Observers and includes Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and the United States, Bangladesh, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. 

Sri Lanka has been a member of the Forum since 2007. The 29th Forum is hosted by Cambodia, the current Chair of ASEAN under the theme “ASEAN A.C.T: Addressing Challenges Together”. 

The ARF is an important platform for consensus-based decision-making and frank dialogue in the larger Asia Pacific region and provides a forum for members to discuss issues and develop cooperative measures, as well as pressing issues such as the post COVID-19 pandemic recovery and address global challenges collectively, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. 

This is the first time the Forum is meeting in person since the COVID pandemic.

Minister Ali Sabry is expected to meet several counterparts on the sidelines of the Forum for bilateral discussions, the statement said.