Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Manila, Philippines, on Wednesday to participate in the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) ministerial meeting, according to the Foreign Office.

The FO said Dar reached Manila along with his delegation and is scheduled to take part in the ARF Plenary meeting as well as hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the forum.

It added that “a busy programme of engagements lies ahead, including participation in the ARF Plenary meeting and bilateral meetings with counterparts on the sidelines”.

Upon his arrival at the airport, Dar was received by Assistant Secretary for the Office of Intelligence and Security Services (OISS) Elmer G Cato, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines, along with Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Philippines Ambassador Asima Rabbani, and officials of the Embassy of Pakistan, the FO said.

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The week-long summit, which will run through July 24, gathers foreign ministers and top diplomats from ASEAN nations and major powers to discuss issues surrounding geopolitical challenges, energy supplies, trade, food, security cooperation, Myanmar civil war and the Five-Point Consensus, as well as the impacts of the US-Iran conflict.

US Secretary of ​State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will join the ASEAN-led meeting in the coming days and could meet on the sidelines. Also attending will be ​India, Japan, Australia, South ⁠Korea, Russia, Britain and the European Union, among others.

Southeast Asia, a major oil importer with a combined gross domestic product of $3.8 trillion, is highly exposed to the supply crunch and has sought to fast-track an ASEAN oil-sharing mechanism to ​mitigate the impact.

Additional Information by Reuters