Bangkok--Jul 25--MFA
Statement by His Excellency Sahas Bunditkul Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand at the Closing Ceremony of the 41st AMM and Handing Over of the ASEAN Chairmanship Singapore 24 July 2008
Your Royal Highness,
Your Excellency George Yeo,
Fellow ASEAN Colleagues,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me, first of all, express my heartfelt appreciation to Your Excellency George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, for the warm hospitality extended to me and the Thai delegation during the 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Post Ministerial Conferences and related Meetings.
I would also like to extend my sincere congratulations to Your Excellency and your team for the successful conclusion of Singapore’s Chairmanship of ASEAN. Throughout the past year, Singapore has been instrumental in driving ASEAN forward. The signing of the ASEAN Charter has opened a new Chapter in ASEAN history providing a legal and institutional framework for a more integrated ASEAN Community.
We have also shown to the rest of the world that ASEAN is still a force to be reckoned with. When Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in early May, the ASEAN-led mechanism based on the ASEAN-UN Partnership has proven to be effective in coordinating international humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.
ASEAN will continue to build upon this momentum to further advance our efforts in turning the visions and dreams of our founding fathers to build the ASEAN community into reality by the year 2015.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thailand, being the birthplace of ASEAN, is honoured to take the helm at this important transitional period with the coming into force of the Charter. It is our intention to further strengthen ASEAN and to conduct our Chairmanship in a pro-active and professional manner.
During our Chairmanship, Thailand will give priority to materialising the spirit and values contained in the ASEAN Charter for the benefit of the ASEAN people. Our actions may be summarised by the three “R”s.
First -- we want to realise our commitments under the ASEAN Charter. With the ratification of the Charter, we will continue to actively pursue the establishment and implementation of new ASEAN organs envisaged in the Charter.
Second -- we will revitalise the people-centred community. It has often been said that ASEAN is an elite forum with no relevance to the ordinary people. We must make sure that our peoples fully benefit from ASEAN cooperation. We need to reach out to our peoples and encourage their participation in ASEAN community building process to create for them a strong sense of belonging and ownership. A special emphasis will be given to the youth as they will be the ones who will carry our torch for ASEAN community into the future.
Vital to this will be the establishment of an ASEAN human rights body, expected to be completed by the end of our Chairmanship. In addition, leading up to the Summit, Thailand also hopes to convene an ASEAN Civil Society Conference and an ASEAN Youth Forum so that they can provide inputs for our community building process.
Third -- we need to reinforce human development and security for all peoples in the region. Thailand wants to make sure that ASEAN is able to address and alleviate issues affecting people’s well-being in a concrete manner. ASEAN must be relevant to all of us. To this end, cooperation in the field of food security, energy security, disaster management, economic integration and financial stability should be strengthened.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
While consolidating our regional integration, ASEAN must continue to remain an outward-looking organization through our active engagement with Dialogue Partners and other Development Partners. With this in mind, Thailand will host the 3rd ASEAN-UN Summit back-to-back with the 14th ASEAN Summit to push forward beneficial cooperation for our peoples.
As an introduction to the Thai Chairmanship, tomorrow Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will launch a number of promotional activities as well as the 14th ASEAN Summit website, which will highlight our efforts to achieve a more people-centred organization.
To promote ASEAN awareness and a sense of belonging, we have initiated 15 projects for implementation. Activities such as promoting Young ASEAN Ambassador of Virtues and establishing national ASEAN Associations will be pursued. Educational books, comics and documentaries on ASEAN will be launched and a series of ASEAN competitions and activities will be promoted, including essay writing competitions and ASEAN quiz game. We hope to enhance the knowledge of our youth to make them better ASEAN citizens tomorrow.
Later this year, we will have an ASEAN Anthem in line with the Charter.
These activities, we hope, will help promote ASEAN understanding and unity as we move forward in our community building process.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The task ahead of us will not be easy. But, given that we have been through thick and thin together during the past forty years, I am confident that, together, we can make the ASEAN community a reality.
And together, we can make Southeast Asia a region of peace and stability conducive to long-term economic growth and prosperity for all our peoples.
We stand ready to join hands with our ASEAN colleagues in accomplishing our common aspiration for our ten countries to be united under the ASEAN Charter for all ASEAN peoples.
Thank you very much and I look forward to welcoming all of you to the ASEAN ‘home-coming’ meetings in Thailand.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Division, Department of Information Tel.(02) 643-5170
Fax. (02) 643-5169 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th End.
-PM-
Statement by His Excellency Sahas Bunditkul Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand at the Closing Ceremony of the 41st AMM and Handing Over of the ASEAN Chairmanship Singapore 24 July 2008
Your Royal Highness,
Your Excellency George Yeo,
Fellow ASEAN Colleagues,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me, first of all, express my heartfelt appreciation to Your Excellency George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, for the warm hospitality extended to me and the Thai delegation during the 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Post Ministerial Conferences and related Meetings.
I would also like to extend my sincere congratulations to Your Excellency and your team for the successful conclusion of Singapore’s Chairmanship of ASEAN. Throughout the past year, Singapore has been instrumental in driving ASEAN forward. The signing of the ASEAN Charter has opened a new Chapter in ASEAN history providing a legal and institutional framework for a more integrated ASEAN Community.
We have also shown to the rest of the world that ASEAN is still a force to be reckoned with. When Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in early May, the ASEAN-led mechanism based on the ASEAN-UN Partnership has proven to be effective in coordinating international humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.
ASEAN will continue to build upon this momentum to further advance our efforts in turning the visions and dreams of our founding fathers to build the ASEAN community into reality by the year 2015.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thailand, being the birthplace of ASEAN, is honoured to take the helm at this important transitional period with the coming into force of the Charter. It is our intention to further strengthen ASEAN and to conduct our Chairmanship in a pro-active and professional manner.
During our Chairmanship, Thailand will give priority to materialising the spirit and values contained in the ASEAN Charter for the benefit of the ASEAN people. Our actions may be summarised by the three “R”s.
First -- we want to realise our commitments under the ASEAN Charter. With the ratification of the Charter, we will continue to actively pursue the establishment and implementation of new ASEAN organs envisaged in the Charter.
Second -- we will revitalise the people-centred community. It has often been said that ASEAN is an elite forum with no relevance to the ordinary people. We must make sure that our peoples fully benefit from ASEAN cooperation. We need to reach out to our peoples and encourage their participation in ASEAN community building process to create for them a strong sense of belonging and ownership. A special emphasis will be given to the youth as they will be the ones who will carry our torch for ASEAN community into the future.
Vital to this will be the establishment of an ASEAN human rights body, expected to be completed by the end of our Chairmanship. In addition, leading up to the Summit, Thailand also hopes to convene an ASEAN Civil Society Conference and an ASEAN Youth Forum so that they can provide inputs for our community building process.
Third -- we need to reinforce human development and security for all peoples in the region. Thailand wants to make sure that ASEAN is able to address and alleviate issues affecting people’s well-being in a concrete manner. ASEAN must be relevant to all of us. To this end, cooperation in the field of food security, energy security, disaster management, economic integration and financial stability should be strengthened.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
While consolidating our regional integration, ASEAN must continue to remain an outward-looking organization through our active engagement with Dialogue Partners and other Development Partners. With this in mind, Thailand will host the 3rd ASEAN-UN Summit back-to-back with the 14th ASEAN Summit to push forward beneficial cooperation for our peoples.
As an introduction to the Thai Chairmanship, tomorrow Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will launch a number of promotional activities as well as the 14th ASEAN Summit website, which will highlight our efforts to achieve a more people-centred organization.
To promote ASEAN awareness and a sense of belonging, we have initiated 15 projects for implementation. Activities such as promoting Young ASEAN Ambassador of Virtues and establishing national ASEAN Associations will be pursued. Educational books, comics and documentaries on ASEAN will be launched and a series of ASEAN competitions and activities will be promoted, including essay writing competitions and ASEAN quiz game. We hope to enhance the knowledge of our youth to make them better ASEAN citizens tomorrow.
Later this year, we will have an ASEAN Anthem in line with the Charter.
These activities, we hope, will help promote ASEAN understanding and unity as we move forward in our community building process.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The task ahead of us will not be easy. But, given that we have been through thick and thin together during the past forty years, I am confident that, together, we can make the ASEAN community a reality.
And together, we can make Southeast Asia a region of peace and stability conducive to long-term economic growth and prosperity for all our peoples.
We stand ready to join hands with our ASEAN colleagues in accomplishing our common aspiration for our ten countries to be united under the ASEAN Charter for all ASEAN peoples.
Thank you very much and I look forward to welcoming all of you to the ASEAN ‘home-coming’ meetings in Thailand.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Division, Department of Information Tel.(02) 643-5170
Fax. (02) 643-5169 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th End.
-PM-