We, the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam;
RECALLING the Bali Concord II establishing an ASEAN Community based on three pillars, namely ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community within 2020 and the decision of the ASEAN Leaders at the ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines to accelerate the realization of an ASEAN Community from 2020 to 2015;
GUIDED by the ASEAN Charter which aims to ensure sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations and to place the well-being, livelihood and welfare of the peoples at the centre of the ASEAN Community building process;
REAFFIRMING that a stable, secure and prosperous ASEAN Community can be realized when our peoples are free from hunger and provided with primary education as well as adequate health care;
ACKNOWLEDGING the different levels of social and economic development among ASEAN Member States and the need to narrow the development gap within ASEAN;
NOTING that overall ASEAN Member States have made good progress towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) particularly in primary education, gender equality as well as combating some infectious diseases and in some ASEAN Member States additional goals and targets have been added specific to their own particular circumstances;
CONCERNED that there are still significant challenges that need to be overcome for some ASEAN Member States to fully achieve the MDGs and thereby narrow the development gap in ASEAN;
NOTING the efforts undertaken at the regional level to address the challenges faced by ASEAN Member States in achieving the MDGs and narrowing the development gap particularly through the implementation of the Framework Plan of Action on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication, the projects/programmes on poverty and quality of life in the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAl) Work Plan, the Joint Statement of the
Third ASEAN Education Ministers' Meeting, the Work Plan for primary education, gender equality as well as combating some infectious diseases for Women's Advancement and Gender Equality (2005-2010) and the Work Plan to operationalise the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (2006-2010), the ASEAN Work programme on HIV/AIDS and the measures on health development and sustainable development in the Vientiane Action Programme as well as the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Sustainability; and
RECOGNIZING the contribution of sub-regional cooperation frameworks, namely Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) and Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), and CLMV Sub-regional Cooperation in narrowing the development gap among ASEAN Member States and building an ASEAN Community.
DO HEREBY ADOPT AND PROCLAIM THAT WE WILL:
1. Make ASEAN a more dynamic, gender responsive, resilient and cohesive regional organization for the well-being of its Member States and people;
2. Ensure a continuous effort towards a balance between economic growth and social development and environmental sustainability in order to reduce and not to create negative impacts to the attainment of the MDGs;
3. Further enhance coordination and cooperation within the IAl and sub-regional cooperation frameworks in order to narrow the development gap in ASEAN in particular through the establishment of a consultative mechanism between ASEAN and the sub-regional frameworks;
4. Continue to promote public awareness in ASEAN Member States on the
attainment of MDGs and enhance public participation;
5. Share information, experiences and best practices in the attainment of the MDGs among ASEAN Member States through the relevant ASEAN bodies as well as through the ASEAN Centre of Excellence on MDGs set up in the Asian Institute of Technology and other regional institutions;
6. Develop and implement a Roadmap for the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals as a framework for collective actions among ASEAN Member States to achieve the MDGs focusing on five key areas namely advocacy and linkages; knowledge; resources; expertise; and regional cooperation and regional public goods;
7. Establish a monitoring and evaluation system, including generation of gender statistics for the attainment of MDGs in ASEAN in collaboration with the UN specialized bodies; and
8. Encourage the close collaboration and create networks among the public and private sectors and civil society in addressing challenges and developing strategies on the MDGs.
ADOPTED in Cha-am, Thailand, on the 1st Day of March in the Year Two Thousand and Nine, in a single original in the English language.
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