As one of the active troop-contributing countries to the United Nations peacekeeping operations, and a founding Member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand will host the 4th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Peacekeeping Experts’ Meeting, which is to be co-chaired by the Republic of Korea. The meeting will be organised during 11-12 March 2010 at Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel, with the theme “Towards integrated, multi-dimensional and comprehensive peace operations”.
The discussion will focus on three related and mutually reinforcing issues of capacity building, civil-military cooperation and regional cooperation in peacekeeping, post-conflict peacebuilding and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, which are issues of interest to ARF participants and in line with the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint.
Indeed, peacekeeping has evolved into one of the chief multilateral and regional instruments to help promote peace and stability in areas where there are ongoing efforts to end conflicts or to protect the gains of peace and stability in a post-conflict situation. One of the key developments in recent years in the field of peacekeeping has been the multi-dimensional nature of peacekeeping and the evolution of the idea of peace operations. Another is the increasingly important role of regional organisations in contributing to multi-dimensional peacekeeping and peace operations.
Peacekeeping experts -- military, police and civilian -- from 27 ARF Members and the ASEAN Secretariat are expected to participate in this meeting. It is hoped that interactive and vigorous discussion among these experts would lead to best practices and lessons learned so that we can better contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security.
The interested media are invited to cover the opening ceremony of the conference on 11 March 2010, during 9.00 — 10.00 hrs., at Infinity Room, 1st floor, Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel. The welcoming remarks will be addressed by Mr. Asda Jayanama, Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and Mr. Cho Baek-Sang, Director General of the International Policy Bureau, Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea.
The programme is attached herewith.
4th ARF Peacekeeping Experts’ Meeting “Towards integrated, multi-dimensional and comprehensive peace operations” Bangkok, Thailand 11-12 March 2010 Tentative Programme for the Opening Ceremony of the Conference
Thursday 11 March 2010
09.00-10.00 hrs. Opening session
- Welcoming address by H.E. Mr. Asda Jayanama, Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
- Welcoming remarks by Mr. Cho Baek-Sang, Director-General, International Policy Bureau, Ministry of National Defense, Korea
Presentation
- Mr. Takahisa Kawakami, Assistant Secretary-General/Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Security Sector Support & Rule of Law in United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT)
- Group photo
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