LANGKAWI - Asean needs to double down on regional integration to enhance the grouping’s competitiveness, especially at a time when changes to geopolitical structures and economic policy are taking place worldwide, said Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Singapore’s foreign affairs minister was speaking after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi on Jan 18 and 19, the first high-level meeting hosted by Malaysia as the bloc’s 2025 chair.

LANGKAWI: Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will be in Langkawi, Malaysia, from Jan 18 to 19, to attend the Asean foreign ministers’ retreat.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered Sunday for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc's new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar’s drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

LANGKAWI: Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi from Jan 18 to Jan 19. Dr Balakrishnan is attending at the invitation of his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Hasan,

LANGKAWI: Asean Foreign Ministers have emphasized to Myanmar the importance of achieving peace in the country over holding a national election, according to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

At the meeting, the bloc discussed transnational crimes including online scam syndicates, and called for closer cooperation with China to combat the issue, according to media reports. The theme of this year's meeting was "Secure,

Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that the development has set the stage for an end to the violence that has devastated the region for 15 months.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday met Vivian Balakrishnan, the minister for foreign affairs of Singapore as he began his three-day tour of the city-state.