ASEAN AND EAST ASIA SUMMIT SENIOR OFFICIALS FINALIZE PREPARATIONS FOR NOVEMBER SUMMITS
Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Enrique Manalo led senior officials from the Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) in their meetings today to finalize the arrangements and outcome documents for the forthcoming ASEAN Plus Three (APT) and East Asia Summits (EAS) this November.
The APT Preparatory Senior Officials’ Meeting reviewed the status of the implementation of the East Asia Vision Group (EAVG) II recommendations in the areas of promoting connectivity in East Asia; promoting good governance, rule of law, and human rights; East Asia community building; strengthening public health service; network of East Asia universities; water management; strengthening people-to- people connectivity; and poverty alleviation among others.
This year marks the 20th year of the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation. Heads of State and Government will adopt the Manila Declaration on the 20th Anniversary of APT Cooperation at their Commemorative Summit in November to chart the future direction of APT cooperation. Likewise, APT Leaders will adopt the APT Leaders’ Statement on Food Security – a vital regional issue that the Cooperation aims to address alongside global issues such as climate change, overpopulation, land degradation, and other issues on the environment.
Undersecretary Manalo also chaired the East Asia Summit (EAS) Preparatory Senior Officials’ Meeting, where officials discussed the preparations for the 12th East Asia Summit on November 14 and reviewed the progress in the negotiations of proposed outcome documents that will be considered by EAS Leaders in Manila. Included among these documents is the proposed Manila Plan of Action which builds upon the current one that will expire at the end of 2017. The Plan of Action will provide action lines for cooperation in a number of areas among the ASEAN and its eight East Asia partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and the United States of America.
On October 12, the Senior Officials from the three community pillars of ASEAN – Political-Security, Economic, and Socio-Cultural, along with the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, met during the ASEAN Joint Consultative Meeting to discuss preparations for the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits on 10-14 November in the Philippines. Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr, Director General of the National Organizing Council, briefed senior officials on the logistical arrangements for the Summit, including the arrival scenarios for the Leaders and the detailed program of activities. END