The ministers are meeting in Laos' National Culture Hall Mr Josselin said the Burmese delegation made its undertaking during the meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations and European Union ministers in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. No problem' European delegates are trying to secure an agreement from Burma to allow an EU fact-finding mission to visit the country in January. They want the mission to be allowed to meet opposition leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi, minority groups and aid workers. EU ministers are demanding all restrictions on NLD leaders be lifted. But Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung told reporters in Vientiane there was no problem with human rights in his country.
Asean countries have a policy of non-interference in member countries' domestic affairs.
But European ministers said they had no intention of backing down on the human rights issue. Slighted The other main issue at Monday's talks was the level of representation. The 10 Asean countries, who all sent their foreign ministers, were upset that the European countries had only despatched junior ministers and bureaucrats. European delegates said this was because their foreign ministers were tied up with the extended EU summit in Nice, France.