Foreign ministers, (L-R) Brunei's Lim Jock Seng, Cambodia's
Hor Namhong, Indonesia's Hassan Wirajuda, Laos' Thongloun Sisoulith,
Republic of Korea's Ban Ki-moon, China's Li Zhaoxing, Malaysia's Syed
Hamid Albar, Japan's Taro Aso, Philippines' Alberto Romulo, Myanmar's U
Nyan Win, Singapore's George Yeo, Thailand's Kantathi Suphamongkhon,
Vietnam's Pham Gia Khiem, and ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong, pose
for a photograph before the ASEAN + 3 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Kuala
Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, July 26, 2006. (Xinhua
Photo) |
KUALA LUMPUR,
July 26 (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of ASEAN, China, Japan and the
Republic of Korea (ROK) here Wednesday expressed continued commitment to the
ASEAN Plus Three process.
The foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met with their counterparts from China, Japan
and South Korea at the Seventh ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting here
on Wednesday.
In a chairman's statement issued after the meeting,
the ministers noted with satisfaction the progress achieved in ASEAN Plus Three
cooperation over the past nine years, which covers 16 sectors and has 48
mechanisms to facilitate and implement the cooperation.
The ministers welcomed the establishment of
cooperation in four new sectors under the ASEAN Plus Three framework, which are
cooperation in rural development and poverty eradication, women issues, disaster
risk management and emergency response, and minerals.
Thailand and the Republic of Korea will organize the
East Asia Cultural Week separately in 2007 to coincide with the 10th anniversary
of the ASEAN Plus Three cooperation.
The ministers reaffirmed the urgent need to address
energy security issues as the increase in oil prices has highlighted the need to
search for alternative sources of energy.
The energy ministers of ASEAN Plus Three are due to
meet on July 27, 2006, in Vientiane, Laos, to discuss energy security issues.
The ministers welcomed the convening of the East Asia
Summit as a forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political and economic issues
of common interest with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic
prosperity in East Asia.
The ministers reiterated their consistent position
that the next United Nations Secretary-General shall be selected from an Asian
member state of the UN.
They also discussed the preparations for the Tenth
ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the Second East Asia Summit, which will be held on
December 11-13, 2006, respectively in Cebu, the Philippines.
Since 2000, the ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting,
namely between the ASEAN foreign ministers and foreign ministers of China, Japan
and South Korea, has been held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Post Ministerial
Conferences. This meeting focuses on broadening the ASEAN Plus Three
cooperation, including discussion on East Asia community building.
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