On 24 August 2009, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya gave a press briefing after chairing the 1st meeting of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Council (ASCC) at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok. Gist is as follows:
1. This was the first meeting of the socio-cultural community pillar following the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter since 15 December 2008. The meeting was attended by ASEAN ministers for socio-cultural affairs such as from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, and Ministry of Culture.
2. The Meeting exchanged views on strategies and approaches to propel ASEAN into becoming a socio-cultural community. The Meeting agreed that even though the ASEAN member countries are diverse in terms of race, religion, and geography, the ten countries shared common cultural and historical roots. These commonalities deserve to be promoted for better understanding and stronger sense of unity of the ASEAN peoples through various media channels, including cultural exhibitions and people-to-people exchanges.
3. The Meeting extensively discussed the priority areas and deliverables for the 15th ASEAN Summit. The Meeting supported in principle Thailand’s proposal to have education as the subject of an outcome document for the 15th ASEAN Summit. It also agreed to expedite the drafting of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children. The Meeting further exchanged views on addressing the global financial crisis in connection with the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and public health issues.
4. The Meeting adopted the Rules of Procedure and took note of the development of the ASCC Communications Plan. The Meeting also agreed that the Second Meeting of the ASCC would take place back to back with the 15th ASEAN Summit in October 2009.
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