Turkish foreign minister will travel to Laos on Friday to attend Türkiye-ASEAN meeting

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will pay a two-day visit to Laos on Friday to attend the Türkiye-ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partnership Sixth Trilateral Meeting in the capital Vientiane, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara said on Thursday.

"Minister Fidan will visit Vientiane on 26-27 July 2024 to participate in the Türkiye-ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partnership Sixth Trilateral Meeting to be held on the margins of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers 57th Meeting," the ministry said in a statement.

Fidan is also expected to have several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event.

In July last year, the foreign minister attended the 5th ASEAN-Türkiye Sectoral Dialogue Partnership Meeting in Indonesia.

Türkiye established institutional relations and signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, one of ASEAN's founding documents, in 2010, before becoming a sectoral dialogue partner in 2017.

Earlier on Thursday, the 57th Meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers began in Vientiane.

According to a brief statement released by the 10-member bloc on X, top diplomats reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Laos' theme for this year's activities, "ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience."

The ASEAN will also hold bilateral meetings, at the bloc level, with China, the U.S., Russia as well as India.