KUALA LUMPUR, July 23: Myanmar and Laos were formally inducted into the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a special ceremony on Wednesday. This will take the strength of the regional grouping to nine.

While flags of the two countries will be raised during the ceremony to welcome ASEAN's newest members, Cambodia will be sitting on the sidelines after its impending membership was delayed indefinitely because of the civil war raging there.

ASEAN decided on July ten to postpone Cambodia's membership following the ouster of first Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh by second Prime Minister Hun Sen almost three weeks ago.

Cambodia was to have been admitted along with Myanmar and Laos into ASEAN, which comprised fo Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Myanmar and Laos will join ASEAN a day ahead of the grouping's annual two-day foreign ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur, where the ministers agenda includes discussing how best to resolve the current Cambodian crisis. Cambodia, which remains an ASEAN observer, will be represented at the meeting by foreign minister Ung Huot who is arriving later on Wednesday.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.