soc.culture.china

Published October 6, 2007

Singapore invited to UN session on Myanmar

SINGAPORE has been invited to attend a meeting with the United Nations
Security Council to discuss the situation in Myanmar, according to a
statement issued yesterday by the office of Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong.


The statement said that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon had earlier
called Mr Lee to discuss and follow up on the recent visit to Myanmar
by UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari.

'Secretary-General Ban thanked Mr Lee for Singapore's support of Mr
Gambari's mission, and updated Mr Lee on the outcome of the visit and
the next steps forward,' the statement said.

'He said that the UN Security Council would be meeting to discuss
Myanmar, and that Singapore would be invited, as Asean chair, to
attend the meeting and make a statement.'

Mr Lee assured Mr Ban of Singapore's and Asean's continued commitment
to the UN's efforts. As Asean alone would not have enough leverage, Mr
Lee also stressed the need for the other powers to weigh in and give
their full backing to Mr Gambari and the UN.