JAKARTA, 8 April 2021 – ASEAN and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to enhance cooperation under ASEAN-Australia strategic partnership during the 11th ASEAN-Australia Joint Cooperation Committee Meeting held virtually today.
Both sides reviewed the implementation of the ASEAN-Australia Plan of Action (2020-2024) and noted the progress that has been made in the first year of implementation of the Plan of Action despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting highlighted the importance of multilateral collaboration in COVID-19 response and economic recovery. In this regard, ASEAN welcomed the announcements made by Australia last year to support the region’s response, particularly its contribution to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund and commitment to support the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases.
In light of the disruption and impact of COVID-19 on the economic sector, ASEAN and Australia looked forward to the upgrade negotiation of the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) and an early entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
In addition, they identified a number of key areas for enhanced cooperation, including; cybersecurity; counter-terrorism; maritime cooperation; Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda; 4IR; digital and creative economy; people-to-people links; education; Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), sustainable development; health and zoonotic diseases: disaster management; connectivity and smart citie
Furthermore, they commended the important role of the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II) as the flagship initiative to support ASEAN’s strategic plans for economic integration. Noting that the programme will expire at the end of this year, both sides underlined the need for the successor programme to build on the achievements that have been made so far.
Both sides also looked forward to the convening of the first annual ASEAN-Australia Summit in October this year, which will mark a new chapter in their Dialogue Relations.
The Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN Kamsiah Kamaruddin and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Will Nankervis co-chaired the meeting, which were attended by the Permanent Representatives of ASEAN Member States or their representatives, as well as officials from the ASEAN Secretariat and the Australian Mission to ASEAN.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.Menu - WHAT WE DO
ASEAN organs always strive to achieve ASEAN’s goals and objectives, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat shall be functioned as coordinating Secretariat to help facilitate effective decision-making withing and amongst ASEAN bodies. In addition, each Member State shall appoint a Permanent Representative to liaise with Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat
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ASEAN shall develop friendly relations and mutually beneficial dialogues, cooperation and partnerships with countries and sub-regional, regional and international organisations and institutions. This includes external partners, ASEAN entities, human rights bodies, non-ASEAN Member States Ambassadors to ASEAN, ASEAN committees in third countries and international organisations, as well as international / regional organisations.
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The rodmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015) was declared by the leaders in 2009. The ASEAN Community, anchored on three community pillars: Political-Security Community, Economic Community, Socio-Cultural Community was launched in 2015. The ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together was introduced in 2015 as a Post-2015 Vision. It comprises the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025, the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025
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