Joint Media Statement of the Ninth Conference of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) Jakarta, 24 May 2007
1. The Ninth Conference of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 24 May 2007. It was preceded by a Senior Officials Meeting on 22-23 May 2007.
2. The Conference was opened by H.E. Prof. Ir. Mohammad Nuh, Minister for Communication and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia.
3. The Conference was attended by H.E. Pehin Dato Yahya Bakar, Minister of Energy in the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam; H.E. Mr. Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information of the Kingdom of Cambodia; H.E. Prof. Dr. Ir. Mohammad Nuh, Minister for Communication and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia; H.E. Prof. Dr. Bosengkham Vongdara, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic; H.E. Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, Minister of Information of Malaysia; H.E. U Khin Zaw Win, Ambassador of Myanmar to the Republic of Indonesia; H.E. Hon. Conrado A. Limcaoco, JR., Secretary, the Philippines Information Agency (PIA) of the Republic of the Philippines; H.E. Dr. Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts of the Republic of Singapore; Mr. Pramoj Rathavinij, Director-General of the Public Relations Department, Office of the Prime Minister, the Kingdom of Thailand; and H.E. Mr. Do Quy Doan, Vice-Minister Culture and Information of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam; and their respective delegations. H.E. Mr. Ong Keng Yong, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and staff from the ASEAN Secretariat were also in attendance.
4. H.E. Prof. Ir. Mohammad Nuh, Minister for Communication and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia and H.E. Prof. Dr. Bosengkham Vongdara, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic were elected as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Conference respectively.
9th AMRI’s Theme of “Staying Connected to Advance a Caring and Sharing Community through Media”
5. The Meeting noted the developments in the ASEAN information sector since the eighth AMRI held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2004. This included the continuing work of the various mediums such as TV and radio in increasing ASEAN awareness, and the on-going review of the information sector projects to get greater value and impact on ASEAN people, particularly the younger generation.
6. The Ministers agreed that the theme of “Staying Connected to Advance a Caring and Sharing Community through Media” is timely and appropriate given ASEAN’s present journey towards a people-centred ASEAN Community by 2015. The Ministers stressed the important role of the media and the information sector in ensuring that the peoples of ASEAN have a proper understanding of the larger objectives of ASEAN and the opportunities it offers to all in ASEAN through mainstreaming ASEAN activities and initiatives to all stakeholders at the national level. An effective ASEAN communications strategy is also needed to promote the achievements of ASEAN in the region and the world.
7. The Ministers noted the relevance of tapping the potential of the technology advances in information and media such as digital broadcasting to realise ASEAN objectives of building a community. The Ministers stressed that the stakeholders and the media industry must ensure that the advancement in ICT help narrow the digital divide and support the implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme based on the three pillars of the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
8. In order to achieve the objectives of the ASEAN Community, the Ministers agreed that more coordination and proactive measures are needed to increase information exchange and promote information flows and encourage the media industry to cover more ASEAN events and activities. This is of particular significance in view of the many commemorative events for ASEAN’s 40th Anniversary in 2007.
9. The Ministers also agreed that a revamped ASEAN portal on culture and information would be enhanced with ASEAN media content and that this website would be targeted to be showcased at the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007 in Singapore.
10. The Ministers were also briefed on the latest development in the drafting of the ASEAN Charter.
MoU on National Communication Plans
11. The Ministers noted the reports made by the Member Countries on the implementation of the National Communication Plans on ASEAN Awareness and Understanding in supporting ASEAN’s communication campaign following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Hanoi in 2000.
12. Recognising the importance of further enhancing the effectiveness of the programmes and in light of the many recent developments and initiatives in ASEAN, the Ministers tasked the ASEAN Secretariat to carry out an assessment on the effectiveness of the respective National Communication Plans in strengthening ASEAN priorities and to develop a new ASEAN Communication Plan in supporting the establishment of a Caring and Sharing Community.
ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Cooperation
13. The Ministers acknowledged that digital broadcasting will usher in a new era of growth and investment in this sector and welcomed the progress of the ASEAN Digital Broadcasting (ADB) cooperation. The Ministers noted that the DVB-T standard was the most commonly adopted international DTV standard and would offer the most advantages in terms of economies of scale, ease of adoption and versatility for multiple platforms.
14. In this regard, the Ministers endorsed the DVB-T standard for ASEAN common digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard. The Ministers also noted that the Philippines is still conducting, testing and consulting on the digital standards.
15. The Ministers agreed that ASEAN undertake further discussions on the detailed policy considerations in planning for Analogue Switch-Off and took note of the proposal by some ASEAN Member Countries for ASEAN to work towards 2015 as a common switch-off date, subject to the ability of individual ASEAN Member Countries given their geographical and human resource challenges.
16. The Ministers endorsed the recommendations of the fourth Meeting of the ADB held in Kuala Lumpur, in 29 March 2007 to develop a detailed DTV development work plan and set up specialist working groups to oversee the process.
17. The Ministers reiterated that further developments in this field must take into account the technical infrastructure of each ASEAN Member Country and the need for ASEAN Member Countries to support each other.
AMRI Consultations with the People’s Republic of China and Japan
18. The Ministers convened individual consultative meetings with China and Japan and took note of the work so far on bilateral and regional cooperation on information and media with the People’s Republic of China and Japan.
19. ASEAN and China agreed to deepen cooperation in the area of information and media according to the 2006-2010 work plan focusing on priority areas of human resource development, exchange of films and TV programmes and setting up ASEAN and China information and media network. The Ministers noted the on-going consideration of the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the governments of the ASEAN Member Countries and the People’s Republic of China which aims to enhance ASEAN-China cooperation through the exchange of information and media and which will be signed at the later date. ASEAN and China also explored the possibility of developing capacity building programmes in rural areas through cooperation in the field of information and media.
20. ASEAN and Japan agreed to expand future cooperation in areas in which ASEAN and Japan share common interests, namely, in media content development, broadcasting digitalisation and emergency broadcasting systems. Both sides exchanged ideas on making more effective outreach to the younger generation and agreed to explore possible areas of cooperation in this respect. The Senior Officials of ASEAN and Japan were tasked to draw up a relevant work programme.
Closing and Acknowledgement
21. The Ministers expressed their sincere appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Indonesia for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements contributing to the success of the Conference.
22. The Conference was held in the traditional spirit of ASEAN solidarity and cordiality.
23. The 10th AMRI is tentatively scheduled to be held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, in 2009.
