DFA convenes 32nd ASEAN Matters Technical Board Meeting

Office of ASEAN Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel R. Espiritu chairs the 32nd ASEAN Matters Technical Board Meeting (AMTB) via videoconference.

MANILA, 18 December 2021 – The Office of ASEAN Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) convened the 32nd ASEAN Matters Technical Board (AMTB) Meeting on 15 December 2021 via videoconference. 

The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Daniel R. Espiritu, Assistant Secretary of ASEAN Affairs and Director-General of the ASEAN-Philippines National Secretariat.

More than 120 participants from 35 different Philippine government agencies attended the meeting to discuss the outcomes of the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits held in October 2021, the priorities of Cambodia as the incoming ASEAN Chair for 2022 (theme: “ASEAN ACT: Addressing Challenges Together”), and the establishment and work of the High Level Task Force (HLTF) for the ASEAN Post-2025 Vision. The meeting likewise discussed updates on the priorities and key deliverables of Brunei Darussalam’s Chairmanship of ASEAN.

In addition, the Department  reported on the results of the major ASEAN Political Security Pillar Community meetings, as well as discussing the current situation in Myanmar, particularly the status of the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. 

ASEAN Community Pillars lead agencies, namely the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), provided updates on the priorities and deliverables of the ASEAN Chair, Brunei Darussalam.

The DFA introduced to the AMTB agencies Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso and Ambassador Luis T. Cruz, the Eminent Person and High Level Representative of the Philippines, respectively, to the HLTF on the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision and the Roadmap. Both ambassadors underscored the importance of the AMTB mechanism and encouraged the agencies to take stock and distill Philippine priorities and commitments across the three (3) ASEAN Community Pillars in pursuit of this visioning exercise.

The DFA also discussed matters related to the International Commitment Fund Funding, preparation for the ASEAN Prize Nominees, and the Philippines’ ASEAN-EU Country Coordinatorship. END

Participating agencies actively exchanged views on the presentations and updates by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and ASEAN Community Pillars lead agencies.