By Jackson Sawatan, NNN-Bernama
Singapore : The United Nations Security Council will convene a meeting to discuss Myanmar, says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Ban made the remark when he called on Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is the current Chairman of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), here this morning.
During the meeting, Ban discussed the recent trip by UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari to Myanmar and updated Lee on the outcome of the visit and the next step forward.
According to a statement issued after the meeting, Ban told Lee that Singapore would be invited, as Asean chair, to attend the UN meeting and make a statement.
As Asean alone would not have enough leverage, Lee also stressed the need for the other powers to weigh in and give their full backing to Gambari and the UN.
“In this regard, Mr Lee has written to the leaders of China, India and Japan to convey these views, and to encourage them to work together with Asean and the UN to help the parties in Myanmar find a way forward for national reconciliation,” the statement added.
Myanmar is a member of the 10-nation Asean, along with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.