France eyes to beef up ties with Southeast Asian nations

France wants to further strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations to be in a situation to have credible diplomacy, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told his Indonesian couterpart Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on November 25.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu (R) and his Indonesian couterpart Prabowo Subianto

France needs to maintain political interaction with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said, stressing that his country wants to play a multilateral role in the region.

Lecornu also highlighted the strong relationship between France and Indonesia, saying that there is a powerful strategic intimacy that is being formed between Indonesia and France.

The meeting between the Indonesian and French ministers took place in the context that Indonesia will officially assume the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2023.

France is currently an observer of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM ), consisting of Defence Ministers and representatives of defence ministries of ASEAN member countries and the bloc’s partner countries namely Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US./.

VNA