Myanmar belongs to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but the annual ministers' retreat is being held in Jakarta without its foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin.
Last year, when ASEAN was chaired by Cambodia, Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to the November meeting of ASEAN leaders after Myanmar declined to let an ASEAN envoy meet with Suu Kyi. In her opening remarks Friday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the ministers were meeting in the midst of immense global challenges in which the Indo-Pacific region is not immune, including geopolitical, food, energy, financial and ecological crises, as well as major power rivalries that could spill over and potentially destabilize the region.
"The issue of Myanmar will not be allowed to hold hostage the process of strengthening the ASEAN community development," Marsudi said last month in outlining Indonesia's foreign policy for the year. Marsudi said Indonesia is setting up an office of an ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar in Jakarta to spearhead how the bloc deals with the crisis and she will seek to engage with all stakeholders in Myanmar, noting that it is crucial to enable a national dialogue to address the crisis.
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