Two-day Prep-SEOM Kicks Off Ahead Of 31st AEM Retreat

By Norsyafawati Ab Wahab and Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KOTA TINGGI, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- The two-day Preparatory Senior Economic Officials' Meeting (Prep-SEOM) for the 31st ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Retreat kicked off in Desaru today, setting the stage for the retreat on Feb 28.

Deputy Secretary-General (Trade) of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Mastura Ahmad Mustafa is chairing the meeting, which gathers senior economic officials from ASEAN member states.

In her opening remarks, Mastura said the meeting will discuss important matters for the AEM Retreat that will be held this Friday. "I look forward to facilitating the discussions with SEOM colleagues to streamline the presentation and discussion, ensuring we can focus on agenda items that are pertinent, and to attain the guidance and decisions of the AEM," she said.

The senior economic officials, representing ministries of trade, commerce and economic affairs in ASEAN, will discuss preparations for the upcoming AEM Retreat, chaired by MITI Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

Before this, the 12th Working Group-ASEAN Economic Community (WG-AEC) Meeting was held on February 22-23, followed by the 47th High-Level Task Force on Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) Meeting on February 24-25.

The 31st AEM Retreat is being held in conjunction with Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN, reflecting Malaysia's aspiration to build a more inclusive and sustainable ASEAN community.

--  BERNAMA