Turkey's parliament speaker meets with ASEAN envoys

By Ali Kemal Akan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's parliament speaker met Monday with envoys from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the capital, Ankara.

Speaking at the meeting with the ASEAN Ankara Committee (AAC), Mustafa Sentop stressed the importance of international solidarity, cooperation and acting together amid the coronavirus pandemic crisis.

His remarks came a day ahead of the rotation of the presidency of the AAC from Indonesia’s Ambassador to Turkey Lalu Muhammad Iqbal to the Philippine ambassador.

"The coronavirus pandemic showed us that an understanding of caring for the world and its people should come to the fore," Sentop said.

Turkey has successfully fought against the pandemic, he said.

"By acting in solidarity with many countries, it has made efforts to fight COVID-19 worldwide as much as it can."

Among the attendees of the meeting were Brunei Darussalam's Ambassador Mohammad Shafiee bin Haji Kassim, Philippine Ambassador Raul S. Hernandez, Singapore’s Ambassador Jonathan Tow Shen Han, Thai Ambassador Phantipha Lamsudha Ekarohit, Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Quang Tuyen, Malaysia’s Charge d'Affaires Arhan Shah Anuar and Cambodia's Charge d'Affaires Sophea Heng.

Seven ASEAN member states have embassies in Turkey which form the AAC, while Turkey is a sectoral dialogue partner for ASEAN.