Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof headed the Brunei Darussalam delegation to the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) at the National Convention Centre in Vientiane, Laos yesterday.
The meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Laos, General Chansamone Chanyalath, observed a report from the ASEAN Secretariat on recent developments in ASEAN.
The ministers and representatives also exchanged views on regional and international security environment, where ADMM-Plus members reaffirmed their commitment to peace and stability and recognised the significant role of ASEAN in enabling solidarity, practical cooperation and multilateralism.
The meeting also adopted the Joint Statement by the ADMM-Plus on Resilience to Climate-related and Other Natural Disasters, Including Through Best Practices Exchange and Capacity Building.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the ASEAN-China Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting convened and was co-chaired by General Chansamone Chanyalath and Chinese Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun.
This was followed by the commemorative ceremony of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations and the commemorative ceremony of the 35th anniversary of ASEAN-Republic of Korea Dialogue Relations.
A handing over ceremony of the ADMM Chairmanship from Laos to Malaysia officially marked the conclusion of Laos’ chairmanship of ADMM for 2024. Malaysia will assume the role of Chair for ADMM and its related meetings for 2025 with the ADMM Retreat, the 19th ADMM and the 12th ADMM-Plus scheduled to take place in February and November 2025 respectively. The theme for Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ADMM and its related meetings is ‘ASEAN Unity for Security and Prosperity’.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Brigadier General (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Alirupendi bin Haji Perudin as Brunei Darussalam’s ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM-Plus) leader and Brunei Ambassador to Laos Haji Roslan bin Haji Yacub were part of the delegation.
The meeting was attended by defence ministers and representatives from the ADMM-Plus countries, ASEAN Secretariat as well as Timor-Leste as an observer of the ADMM, ADMM-Plus and related meetings.
