Jakarta (ANTARA) – Serbia, Panama, and Kuwait have expressed their readiness to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta on Monday.ccording to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the three countries will sign the treaty on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) at the Secretariat of ASEAN in Jakarta on Monday. The AMM serves as the side activity for the upcoming 43rd ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in Jakarta on September 5-7, under the chairmanship of Indonesia in the regional bloc this year. Under its chairmanship theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth,” Indonesia is making utmost efforts to achieve and retain the bloc’s position as the center of economic, political, and socio-cultural growth. The MFA reported that the TAC will be signed by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic, Panamanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Franco, and Kuwaiti Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Aljaber Al-Sabah. With the three countries joining the treaty, the ASEAN will have a total of 54 countries as the parties to its TAC. Earlier, at the 56th AMM in July in Jakarta, Saudi Arabia became the 51st country to sign the treaty. The TAC, established in 1976, constitutes a pact that promotes the adoption of the principle of non-aggression by the member countries of ASEAN and partner countries of the Southeast Asian bloc. The treaty is expected to encourage its signatories to endorse peace, amity, and cooperation among Southeast Asian Nations and their partners in the hopes of further bolstering the region’s strength, solidarity, and friendly ties. By going forward with the treaty’s accession, countries need to ensure that their acts abide by the very principles of freedom and sovereignty while placing genuine respect to the territorial integrity and national identity of all countries. Countries that are party to the treaty should also respect the right of every country to defend their national stance and refrain from intervening, invading, and coercing as well as prioritizing peaceful methods of conflict settlement.

Source: Antara News Agency