Your Excellency Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai,
Your Royal Highnesses,
Distinguished Colleagues,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, Thailand has the honour of hosting the Thirty-Third ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, an annual tradition that started way back in 1967. In fact, this will be Thailand’s seventh time to host this yearly meeting of Foreign Ministers, and with the increasing complexities of today’s environment, each meeting seems to take on added significance. 

The last time Thailand was host to the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) in 1994, there were only six ASEAN members and seven Dialogue Partners. Times have changed. The discussions now involve ten ASEAN members and ten Dialogue Partners, and will include a whole spectrum of issues including the regional economic and financial crisis, cooperation on transnational issues, development of the Mekong Sub-region, human resource development (HRD), social safety nets, the future of dialogue relationships, political and security cooperation and the implications of globalisation. 

In addition, this millennium AMM/PMC will comprise new dimensions. Last November, at the Third ASEAN Informal Summit in Manila, the Leaders of ASEAN and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea adopted a new Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation. They tasked the Foreign Ministers to review the implementation of joint cooperation in economic, social, political and developmental areas. Subsequently, a formal Foreign Ministers Plus Three Meeting will be held during the 33rd AMM/PMC, for the first time, to review the progress of the various initiatives as well as consider the modalities for East Asia Cooperation. 

Indeed, ASEAN has been a force for peace and stability not only in Southeast Asia, but for the wider security of the Asia-Pacific region through the ASEAN Regional Forum, or ARF. This year, the ARF assumes added significance with the participation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the first time. We welcome the North Koreans into the ARF with the hope that it will serve to reinforce the positive progress and relevance of the ARF and its processes. 

The future direction of the 23 members of the ARF indeed requires our attention. The ARF Foreign Ministers will be addressing further the concept and principles of preventive diplomacy and explore how it can be applicable to our region. Moreover, as the scope of issues and activities taken up by the ARF expands, we need to address how the ARF could deal effectively with transnational issues affecting regional peace and stability.

Within ASEAN, our officials are in the final stages of formulating rules of procedure for the High Council under the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, to take cognizance of disputes or situations likely to disturb regional peace and harmony. We have made good progress in the implementation of the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ) with the establishment of the SEANWFZ Commission. At the same time, our officials have been engaged at the working level with China in the formulation of an ASEAN-China Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Most notably, ASEAN is also implementing the decision of the Third ASEAN Informal Summit to set up the ASEAN Troika as a means to enable ASEAN to address more effectively, and to cooperate more closely, on issues affecting the peace and stability of the region. The Troika would serve to elevate ASEAN cooperation to a higher plane and further enhance ASEAN’s unity and solidarity. We look forward to the endorsement and adoption of the ASEAN Troika at this AMM.

I am also pleased to note that the consultation process between our senior officials and the working group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism has continued. This year, the working group has presented a draft agreement on the establishment on the Human Rights Commission for our consideration.

Excellencies,  

As the Millennium Chair, one of our priorities over the past year has been to focus on bridging closer the existing gap of the last century – the diversities of membership, development, values and ideas within ASEAN, and between ASEAN and the outside world. 

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN will again hold a Retreat to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the changing world environment within an informal setting. Our shared vision is indeed to build a stronger and more complete foundation from which ASEAN would achieve greater heights of cooperation and success.

Given the present political and economic diversity in the region, we are aware however that our policies must be implementable, our actions coherent. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for ASEAN to expedite the integration of the new member countries into the regional and international economy. There should be a comprehensive and coherent strategy that would support infrastructure and human resource development in the region. Human development is fundamental to equipping the future leaders of ASEAN with the essential knowledge and skills needed to better face the challenges of globalisation. The establishment of an ASEAN Fund for Human Resource Development to support ASEAN’s efforts in this area is worth exploring further. As an initial step, the ASEAN Secretariat has already drafted a proposal for capacity-building in the CLMV (Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Viet Nam) countries.

The development of the Mekong Sub-region is an important agenda for ASEAN. In parallel, Thailand has worked with ESCAP to proclaim the years 2000 to 2009 as the Decade of Greater Mekong Sub-region Development Cooperation. It is hoped that the compelling need for the international community to further assist in the development of the less-developed countries in the region will receive the attention it duly deserves.

Over the past year, projects related to social development and social safety nets have been implemented, both individually and with the cooperation of our Dialogue Partners. Emphasis should continue to be placed on eliminating poverty and unemployment, and promoting human capital development. We look forward to tomorrow’s signing of the Joint Declaration for a Socially Cohesive and Caring ASEAN, a document which reflects the Foreign Ministers’ political will to promote awareness of the social problems resulting from the regional economic crisis, as well as to secure further cooperation in this endeavour. In this conjunction, we will also be signing two other very important documents on the protection and preservation of ASEAN’s Cultural Heritage and the Revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Establishment of the ASEAN Foundation, which will serve to reaffirm ASEAN’s commitment to social promotion and development.

Excellencies,

ASEAN’s economic integration is not only confined to tariff reductions. It also includes almost every conceivable aspect of cooperation, liberalisation and facilitation measures that will make ASEAN an integrated economic region, where there is free flow of goods, services and capital. In implementing the mandate of the ASEAN Leaders, ASEAN investment missions have already been sent to Japan, Europe and the United States, aimed at informing foreign investors of the wide-ranging business opportunities in the ASEAN region.

ASEAN will continue to venture beyond the geographical limits of AFTA to explore the possibility for closer economic linkages with other economic centres of the world. It continues to contribute actively to the progress and evolution of APEC and ASEM. It has taken the first major step to forge closer linkages with East Asian countries with the issuance of the Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation. In addition, ASEAN is continuously conducting dialogues with other regional groupings such as the North America Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the European Union (EU), the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER) and Mercosur. And the search for new markets, new linkages and new partnerships continues.

In May this year, Thailand hosted the first Symposium between ASEAN and the Andean Community. A follow-up symposium will be held in 2001. ASEAN looks forward to welcoming representatives from all the other regions to embark upon cooperative undertakings with ASEAN. At this AMM, the Secretary-General of ASEAN will in fact hold informal consultations with representatives from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) to discuss further areas of cooperation for our mutual benefit.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

These are just some of the many developments that have come to symbolise ASEAN’s active role for the future. The exhibition that we have outside this ballroom serves as a proud testament to the many decades of cooperation ASEAN has enjoyed. In striving forward, it is incumbent upon ASEAN to move in tune with the external environment, to being more balanced and comprehensive. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers look forward to exchanging views on all of these matters during this AMM.

Let me take this opportunity however, to thank my ASEAN colleagues for the support and cooperation extended to us throughout Thailand’s chairmanship over the past year. Without their understanding and goodwill, my task would have been much more difficult.

I now have the honour of inviting His Excellency Mr. Chuan Leekpai, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, to deliver the Opening Address.