Philippines Calls for Intensified Cooperation on Regional Pandemic Response at 22nd ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. delivers the Philippines’ omnibus intervention at the 22nd ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting. (DFA-ASEAN photo)
PASAY CITY, 07 August 2021 – The Philippines called on its partners within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three (APT) Meeting (ASEAN and the Republic of Korea, People’s Republic of China, and Japan) to continue and intensify cooperation to address the threat posed by new variants of COVID-19, and welcomed new opportunities for recovery and sustainable growth on 03 August 2021.
“We collectively adapted to regional challenges unforeseen before the pandemic, and this assures me that we (the ASEAN Plus Three) will overcome.” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. stated in his omnibus intervention during the meeting.
The Philippines also called on APT to sustain the transition to a digital economy, in particular by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), ensure the safe movement of people across East Asia, restore the stability of supply chains, maintain regional connectivity initiatives, and ensure the peaceful uses of the sea under the rule of law.
The APT cooperation process began in December 1997 with the convening of an informal summit among the leaders of ASEAN and China, Japan and Republic of Korea at the sidelines of the Second ASEAN Informal Summit in Malaysia. The APT Summit was formalized in 1999 when the Leaders issued a Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation at the Third APT Summit in Manila. Since then, the APT framework has become an important driver for advancing East Asian regionalism. END
Full text of the intervention may be accessed here: https://bit.ly/3Ai3KlW