The meeting between Marty and U Min Wra was also attended by several members of the Human Right National Commission, the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Assembly Ko Ko Hlaing, and 11 prominent Myanmar civic society figures, including NGO activists, businessmen, pressmen and human rights activists.
The meeting`s participants openly discussed developments in Myanmar`s reform and democratization efforts , possible bilateral cooperation with Indonesia on reform and democratization matters, and Myanmar`s bid to chair ASEAN in 2014.
Marty is visiting Myanmar from October 28 to 30, 2011 with the main purpose of gauging the country`s readiness to chair ASEAN two years ahead.
The visit is being made based on a mandate from the 44th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting which took place in Bali last July, the foreign ministry said in a press statement here on Thursday.
On the second day of his visit, Mary was scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Myanmar President U Thein Sein, and meet the Chairman of the Parliament and National Assembly, his Myanmarese counterpart U Wunna Maung Lwin and a few other ministers concerning the three pillars of the ASEAN community.
He will also have a tete-a-tete with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon on Sunday (Oct 30).
Myanmar wants to chair the 10-nation regional grouping in 2014 although according to tradition it would actually be Laos` turn.
Cambodia and Brunei Darussalam would take the ASEAN chair in 2012 and 2013 respectively, while Myanmar was initially projected to do so only in 2016.
Indonesia is the ASEAN Chair for 2011. ASEAN groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
(Uu.F001/HAJM)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
