02 July 2013 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario today called for collaboration on maritime issues, food security, and people-to-people connectivity at the 3rd East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brunei Darussalam.
“We should pursue greater cooperation on maritime concerns in the South China Sea especially as intra-regional seaborne trade between EAS countries has increased in the past few years, which contributed to the tremendous economic growth of the region,” Secretary del Rosario emphasized.
The Foreign Affairs Secretary encouraged cooperation on food security and urged public, private and non-governmental sectors of East Asia to pool their expertise to enhance food security through, among others, sustainable fisheries management and marine environmental conservation.
On connectivity, Secretary del Rosario welcomed increased people-to-people exchanges and supported efforts to develop broad strategies to facilitate the coordination of connectivity- related activities throughout the region. He endorsed the proposal to hold an Informal Meeting with the EAS on ASEAN Connectivity in November 2013.
The East Asia Summit brings together the 10 ASEAN Member States and eight (8) East Asia partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States. It is a leaders-led forum focusing on priority areas such as energy and the environment, education, global health and pandemics, finance, disaster management, and connectivity. END