On 7-8 June 2012, Thailand as the Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Canada dialogue relations will host the 9th ASEAN-Canada Dialogue at the Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok. The Meeting will be co-chaired by Mr. Nopadol Gunavibool, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and Mr. Grant Manuge, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister for the International Business Development, Innovation and Asia Branch of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada. The Dialogue will also be attended by representatives from all other ASEAN Member States, Canada and the ASEAN Secretariat.
The ASEAN-Canada Dialogue is an annual meeting at senior officials level. Its main objectives are to review and discuss ways and means to intensify relations and enhance cooperation between the two sides in all dimensions. It is also a forum for ASEAN and Canada to share information and update on significant developments in ASEAN and Canada and exchange views on strategic issues ranging from political and security to economic affairs as well as regional and global challenges.
This Dialogue is held during an important occasion as this year marks the 35th Anniversary of ASEAN-Canada relations and coincides with the final year for Thailand to serve as the Country Coordinator. The hand-over of coordinatorship to Singapore will be made at the next ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference 10+1 Session with Canada in July 2012 in Phnom Penh.
Apart from the commemoration of the 35th Anniversary of ASEAN-Canada dialogue relations, the meeting will also focus on how to ensure that the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on the ASEAN-Canada Enhanced Partnership 2010-2015 can be translated into tangible outcomes, how to enhance cooperation in promoting connectivity within ASEAN as well as between ASEAN and Canada, including how to promote closer economic partnership in accordance with ASEAN-Canada Joint Declaration on Trade and Investment.
On the sidelines of the Dialogue, a Track 1.5 Seminar on “People-to-People Connectivity : Roles of Education and Research” will be organised in cooperation with the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS), Thailand, under the support of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The Seminar is another important activity to commemorate the 35th Anniversary. It will focus on the important roles of education and research as tools to connect peoples, particularly youth, who will play a crucial role in determining the direction of future ASEAN-Canada relations.
ASEAN-Canada dialogue relations was officially established in 1977 while the ASEAN-Canada Dialogue was formalized at its first meeting in 2004. At present, ASEAN and Canada operate within 3 main mechanisms namely, the Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) +1 with Canada at the Foreign Ministers level, the ASEAN-Canada Dialogue Meeting at the Senior Officials level and the ASEAN-Canada Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), formerly called the Informal Coordinating Meeting (ICM), at the level of the ambassadors/permanent representatives in Jakarta.
During Thailand’s tenure of Coordinatorship between July 2009- July 2012, not only has Canada recognised the increasing importance of the Asia-Pacific region and expressed her commitment in enhancing her constructive role in this region, Thailand as the Country Coordinator has also succeeded in advancing ASEAN-Canada partnership in many aspects. Recent landmark developments in ASEAN-Canada relations include the adoption of the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on the ASEAN-Canada Enhanced Partnership 2010-2015, which represents the roadmap on how to further promote cooperation in all dimensions, Canada’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and the Third Protocol Amending the TAC, which reflects Canada’s strong commitment to promoting peace and security in the region, and the adoption of the Joint Declaration on trade and investment, which illustrate respectively ASEAN-Canada commitments to strengthen economic cooperation in order to boost bilateral trade and investment flows on both sides.
During the Official Visit to the Kingdom of Thailand by the Right Honorable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, on 22-24 March 2012, the two Prime Ministers took this Visit as a great opportunity to emphasize, not only the close and cordial bilateral relations between Thailand and Canada, but also the importance of ASEAN-Canada dialogue relations and congratulated the auspicious occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the relations this year.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th