Ministers from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have decided not to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) for economic ministers held in Rotterdam.

According to a statement by Singapore Foreign Ministry on Friday night, the decision was made on a matter of principle, and the meeting will proceed at the officials' level.

"Singapore's position is that all members of international fora, such as the Asia-Europe Meeting, should be treated equally. If an EU (the European Union) member country has a bilateral problem with an ASEAN country, this should not translate into unequal treatment in the multilateral context," the statement said.

Reports had revealed that the Netherlands, the host country of the meeting, had refused to grant a visa to a minister from Myanmar, according to Channel NewsAsia.

Source: Xinhua