DHAKA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh is poised to be officially admitted into the prestigious Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) at its 13th foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 28.

    Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan will lead a Bangladeshi delegation to the meeting, marking the country's accession to the ASEAN-plus forum that has roped in most of world's big powers, local daily The Financial Express reported Sunday.

    The 12th meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum held in Vietnam in July last year welcomed and agreed to ASEAN's consensus on admission of Bangladesh as the 26th participant in the ARF.

    The ARF came into being in 1994 drawing together 25 countries that have a bearing on security of the Asia-Pacific region.

    The current participants in the ARF are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russian, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, the United States and Vietnam. Enditem