Coming Up: The 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand
The 14th ASEAN Summit, themed “ASEAN Charter for ASEAN Peoples”, will be held from 27 February - 1 March 2009 in Cha-am, Phetchaburi Province, Thailand.
At the Opening Ceremony, the ASEAN Anthem, called "The ASEAN Way", will be performed for the ASEAN Leaders. The ASEAN Anthem was selected in a region-wide contest last year.
At the Summit, ASEAN Leaders are expected to endorse the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint, which can been seen as master-plans to guide ASEAN towards achieving the ASEAN Political-Security Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community by 2015, respectively. They will also issue a Statement on Food Security in the ASEAN Region.
On the economic front, several documents will be signed by the ASEAN Economic Ministers, including the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area and the Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Good Manufacturing Practice of Medicinal Products.
ASEAN Foreign Ministers will also sign the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement.
Other events taking place during the Summit include the 4th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit and the 5th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit.
In line with the theme of the Summit, ASEAN Leaders will hold informal meetings with the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly representatives and the youth and civil society representatives. They will also meet the Leaders from the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.
Please visit http://www.14thaseansummit.org for more information about the 14th ASEAN Summit.
Posted 26 February 2009
Delegation from European Parliament Visits the ASEAN Secretariat
Jakarta, 25 February 2009
A 16-member delegation from the European Parliament (EP) for Relations with Countries of Southeast Asia and ASEAN visited the ASEAN Secretariat today. Led by Mr Hartmut Nassauer, Member of the EP and Chairman of the Delegation for Relations with ASEAN, the delegation was accompanied by an official from the European Commission.
The delegation was received by Mr Dhannan Sunoto, Principal Director of the Bureau for External Relations and Coordination. They were briefed on the institutional changes that are taking place with the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter, i.e. the development of the human rights body in ASEAN, the new and enhanced commitments to ASEAN community building, as well as the enhanced mandate and role of the Secretary-General of ASEAN. Both sides also exchanged views on issues relating to ASEAN-EU relations. Mr Dhannan Sunoto also expressed appreciation to the EU for its continued support to ASEAN’s community building efforts.
The EP last visited the ASEAN Secretariat in November 2006 when they were briefed on the development of the drafting of the ASEAN Charter. They had since closely monitored the development of the ASEAN Charter.
Posted 25 February 2009
Warm Welcome to the Chair of ASEAN, Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva
ASEAN Secretariat, 21 February 2009
Staff of the ASEAN Secretariat was at hand to warmly welcome the boyish and young-looking Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva. Prime Minister Abhisit was the third Prime Minister of Thailand to visit the ASEAN Secretariat. The first being then-Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai (in 1993).
During his visit to the ASEAN Secretariat, Prime Minister Abhisit delivered a keynote address, answered questions from the media, and met and interacted with members of the Diplomatic Corps and international organisations based in Jakarta.
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Please click here for the Welcome Remarks by Dr Surin Pitsuwan.
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Please click here for the Keynote Address by Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Posted 21 February 2009
Leveraging on Technology to Reach Out to the Peoples of ASEAN
Jakarta, 20 February 2009
From the Distance Learning Centre at the University of Indonesia, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan today interacted with peoples from Indonesia and seven other ASEAN Member States - Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam – via video conferencing.
Dr Surin was taking part in a Pre-Summit Briefing that was organised by the ASEAN Secretariat in collaboration with the World Bank and the Global Learning Development Network (GDLN) in the Asia Pacific. Tapping on the GDLN facilities, Dr Surin was able to connect with eight ASEAN countries and over 200 participants from the business sector, academia, civil society organisations, media and other stakeholders at the same time.
Dr Surin briefed the participants on the forthcoming 14th ASEAN Summit which will be held from 27 February – 1 March 2009 in Thailand. He also addressed questions that were raised by the participants including ASEAN’s readiness to establish the ASEAN Community by 2015; the establishment of human rights body; the Initiative for ASEAN Integration to help the lesser developed countries; and ensuring that the voices of the peoples of ASEAN can be heard by the Leaders.
For a recording of the video-conference session, please go to http://210.137.74.228/viewerportal/vmc/channel.do?channelId=1973980382
The Post-Summit Briefing will take place on 2 March 2009 at 8:00am – 10:30am.
Posted 20 February 2009
High-Level Regional Forum: Reducing Vulnerability in the Face of Crisis
ASEAN Secretariat, 19-20 February 2009
(L-R) Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Mr. Anggito Abimanyu, Ms. Corazon “Dinky” Juliano-Soliman, DSG Pushpanathan Sundram
The Ministry of Finance of Indonesia and the ASEAN Secretariat are hosting the High-Level Regional Forum on Reducing Vulnerability in the Face of Crisis from 19-20 February 2009 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Opening the forum, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, said, “A key challenge to the region is not only to get us out of the crisis as rapidly as possible but also not to lose sight of the negative impact of the crisis on the lives of hundreds of millions of Asia’s poor and vulnerable groups.” He added, “The impact of financial crisis needs effective cross-sectoral solutions”. Mr Anggito Abimanyu, Head of Fiscal Office of the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia also delivered his remarks.
The High-Level Regional Forum was attended by over 100 participants from ASEAN and the Plus Three Countries (China, Japan and Korea). They came from Ministries responsible for finance, planning, rural development and poverty reduction, labour, social protection and social welfare. Experts from international organisations such as AusAID, UK Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, ADB, ILO, UNDP, research institutes, academia and non-governmental organisations also participated in the sessions.
Today, the participants shared information and exchanged views on the situation of vulnerable groups in the region given the current financial crisis; various systems of monitoring the situation of the vulnerable groups; and possible responses to crisis. The Forum will conclude tomorrow with recommendations and the way forward in protecting the vulnerable citizens in times of crisis.
The Forum was sponsored by AusAID, DFID and the World Bank.
Posted 19 February 2009
A Pre-Summit Briefing by Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN
ASEAN Secretariat, 19 February 2009
The ASEAN Secretariat, in collaboration with World Bank and Global Learning Development Network (GDLN) in the Asia Pacific, is holding a Pre-Summit Briefing on 20 February 2009 at 8.00am - 10.30am.
Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, will be briefing 300 participants from the business sector, academia, civil society organisations, media and other stakeholders in the ASEAN region about the forthcoming 14th ASEAN Summit that will be held from 27 February – 1 March 2009 in Hua Hin, Thailand.
Dr Surin will be speaking from the Distance Learning Centre at the University of Indonesia. From there, he will interact with participants in eight ASEAN member states who will be connected to the GDLN’s video-conference facilities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Web streaming is available at 210.137.74.228
[Note: The post-Summit briefing will take place on 2 March at 8:00am – 10:30am.]
Posted 19 February 2009
Visit by National Defence Studies Institute of Thailand to ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN Secretariat, 11 February 2009
International humanitarian law is increasingly becoming important in the curriculum of national defence institutes, said the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan today. “We need to be commonly aware of, and understand and respect the norms of humanitarian law,” said Dr Surin. “ASEAN Dialogue Partners and friends are keen to help the region to be more aware of the issues involving international humanitarian law,” he added.
Dr Surin said this when receiving General Narin Tabprasit, Commanding General of the National Defence Studies Institute of Thailand at the ASEAN Secretariat today. The role of the military in non-traditional security issues such as disaster relief and in crowd control was also stressed during the discussion.
General Narin was briefing the Secretary-General on preparations for the 13th ASEAN Regional Forum Heads of Defence Universities, Colleges and Institutions Meeting (ARF HDUCIM) to be held in November 2009 in Bangkok. The HDUCIM is an ARF activity which provides an opportunity for senior leaders from the ARF participating countries to exchange information on the syllabus of their respective defence educational institutions, discuss regional security issues as well as share best practices on conducting research.
The ARF HDUCIM meetings have been held since 1997 in the ARF participating countries such as the Philippines, China, Singapore, Australia and Pakistan.
Posted 11 February 2009
Breakfast meeting with Thailand’s Foreign Minister at the ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN Secretariat, 11 February 2009
The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, hosted a breakfast meeting this morning at the ASEAN Secretariat for Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and the Directors-General of ASEAN.
Among other things, they discussed the important role that the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN will play to support the establishment of the ASEAN Community by 2015. Dr Surin hopes that the Committee will be established soon. He revealed that Permanent Representatives of Lao PDR and Viet Nam are expected to present their credentials soon.
Noting that this is the first year of the implementation of the ASEAN Charter, Dr Surin said Thailand has a significant role ahead as Chair of ASEAN to carry out her tasks to deliver the aims of the Charter and lay the foundation for future development of the ASEAN Community.
Posted 11 February2009
Engaging the Media
ASEAN Secretariat, 10 February 2009
A group of ASEAN and US journalists under the Southeast Asia Journalism Fellowship Programme: “Reinventing ASEAN” is visiting the ASEAN Secretariat for a series of briefings on ASEAN issues. Opening the programme yesterday, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Soeung Rathchavy, welcomed the journalists and updated them on the latest developments in ASEAN.
The programme aims to help the journalists better understand ASEAN, the implications of the ASEAN Charter and the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Blueprint, among others. The key aim is to engage the media in the community building efforts of ASEAN so that they in turn can spread the word about ASEAN to the people.
Besides Jakarta (Indonesia), the journalists will visit Bangkok (Thailand) and Singapore to meet and network with officials from government, business organisations, NGOs, think tanks and other community members. They will also have a chance to witness first-hand some of ASEAN’s activities such as the implementation of the National Single Window at the Tanjung Priok port.
This Programme is organised and sponsored by the ASEAN-US Technical Assistance & Training Facility and the East-West Center. It is supported by Pacific Century Institute and Singapore International Foundation.
Posted 10 February2009
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