Costa Rica seeks to establish closer relations with ASEAN

JAKARTA, 5 September 2017 – Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Manuel Antonio Gonzalez Sanz expressed his country’s desire to forge closer ties with ASEAN. He conveyed this message during his visit to the ASEAN Secretariat yesterday when he met with Hirubalan V P, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Political Security Community Department.

Minister Gonzales praised ASEAN’s significant progress and success over the past 50 years as a regional organisation. Further, he acknowledged that the prudent way for Costa Rica to reach out to the Asia Pacific was through ASEAN. Towards this end, Costa Rica will take steps to enhance links with ASEAN and ASEAN Member States.

Deputy Secretary-General Hirubalan welcomed Costa Rica’s interest in engaging with ASEAN, adding that both sides could identify initial areas of cooperation for mutual benefit as the way forward to enhance engagement.

Minister Gonzalez and Deputy Secretary-General Hirubalan exchanged views on issues of common concern and interest such as climate change, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and illicit drug trafficking.

Minister Gonzalez emphasised climate change as an important pillar of Costa Rica’s foreign policy and underscored the importance of continued collective effort to ensure effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

During his visit to Jakarta, Minister Gonzales will also officiate the opening of Costa Rica’s Embassy to Indonesia, an addition to its diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia.

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