H.E. Saleumxay KOMMASITH, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR chaired the 49^th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, with participation of ASEAN Foreign Ministers, Secretary-General of ASEAN, ASEAN Senior Officials and delegates from ASEAN Member States on the afternoon of 24 July 2016 at the National Convention Centre.

The Meeting discussed progress of implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, in particular the implementation of the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025. The Meeting approved the Priority Programmes/Activities and Budget of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) for 2017, and adopted the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Occasion of the 40^th Anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). The Meeting also agreed to the requests for the accession by Chile, Egypt, Iran, and Morocco to the TAC.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers also discussed the promotion of ASEAN’s external relations and ASEAN’s centrality within ASEAN-led mechanisms. In addition, the Ministers had a candid and constructive exchange of views on regional and international issues such as terrorism, human trafficking, illicit drug, natural disasters, irregular migration as well as developments in the Middle East, Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.