Turkish foreign minister holds bilateral talks on sidelines of ASEAN summit

By Busranur Koca

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held on Saturday bilateral talks on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Vientiane, Laos, diplomatic sources said.

Fidan met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Brunei Darussalam's Foreign Minister Dato Erywan Yusof.

Fidan is in Laos for a two-day visit to participate in Türkiye's sixth trilateral meeting with ASEAN as part of their "sectoral dialogue partnership." The talks coincide with ASEAN's 57th foreign ministers summit.

During his meeting with Indian counterpart Jaishankar, the two discussed bilateral political and economic issues as well as regional matters, including the situation in Afghanistan and security in the Asia Pacific region.

In his talks with Yusof, the schedule for upcoming high-level visits, developments in Gaza, and the situation of Rohingya Muslims were reviewed.

Türkiye formalized its relationship with ASEAN in 2010 by signing one of the bloc's founding documents and became a sectoral dialogue partner in 2017.​​​​​​​ The political and economic union comprises 10 southeast Asian states.