ASEAN Committee in Oslo Meets with Norway Foreign Minister Brende
04 May 2017 OSLO — The ASEAN Committee in Oslo (ACO) met with Norway Foreign Minister Børge Brende on April 19 at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Myanmar Ambassador Maw Maw, as Chair of ACO, led the delegation composed of the Ambassadors of Indonesia, Viet Nam and Thailand, and the Chargé d’Affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Oslo, Maria Elena P. Algabre.
The meeting secured Norway’s support for ACO’s initiatives in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN and discussed possible areas of cooperation under the ASEAN-Norway Sectoral Dialogue Partnership.
FM Brende affirmed Norway’s support to the ASEAN-Norway cooperation and underlined that Norway places high priority in enhancing its relations with ASEAN. He thanked the Philippines, as the current Chair of ASEAN, for inviting him to the ASEAN-Norway Ministerial Meeting in August 2017 to be held at the margins of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting and Related Meetings in Manila. He said he looks forward to visiting Manila for the third time.
He said that Norway recognizes ASEAN’s strides in forging an internal market, and in being a constructive partner in the global scene. He added that Norway’s partnership with ASEAN complements Norway’s strong bilateral relations with individual ASEAN countries. Norway would like to scale up its partnership with ASEAN with “programs that are good, and have added value to the bilateral relations.”
CDA Algabre told FM Brende that the Philippines was pleased to welcome him again in Manila in August. She underlined that promoting women empowerment in the business sector would be an excellent area for ASEAN-Norway cooperation, particularly women in micro, medium and small-scale enterprises (MSMEs). She noted that one of the thematic priorities of the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship is on inclusive growth and support to MSMEs, and mentioned that many MSMEs in ASEAN countries were headed by women. FM Brende welcomed the suggestion, and stressed Norway’s interest in promoting women entrepreneurs.
The ASEAN Committee in Oslo is composed of the diplomatic missions of five ASEAN countries represented in the city, namely Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
For more information, visit www.oslope.dfa.gov.ph / www.philembassy.no or https://www.facebook.com/philembassy.no. END