ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with United Nations Secretary-General,

President of Sixty-eighth General Assembly Session

 

Following is the joint United Nations-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) press statement following the United Nations-ASEAN ministerial-level meeting in New York on 26 September:

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, or the ASEAN-United Nations Ministerial Meeting, was held on 26 September at United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The Meeting was chaired by Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalam.  Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; John Ashe, President of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly; other ASEAN Foreign Ministers and their representatives, as well as the Secretary-General of ASEAN were also in attendance.

This was the second ASEAN-United Nations Ministerial Meeting since the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between ASEAN and the United Nations at the fourth ASEAN-United Nations Summit in Bali in November 2011.  The Meeting reviewed the progress in the implementation of the Joint Declaration, based on the Joint Report submitted by the Secretariats of ASEAN and the United Nations and recommendations of the ASEAN-United Nations Preparatory Senior Officials’ Meeting, which was held on 23 September.  The Meeting noted with satisfaction the continued dialogue and consultation between the Secretariats of the two organizations, and encouraged them to further enhance their cooperation, coordination and liaison functions, as mandated in the Joint Declaration.

The United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly reaffirmed the commitmentof the United Nations to work closely with ASEAN towards their common goals, as set out in the Joint Declaration, including attainment of the Millennium Development Goals and support for ASEAN Community building.  The ASEAN Foreign Ministers reiterated ASEAN’s strong commitment to contribute constructively to the work of the United Nations and strengthen the ASEAN-United Nations partnership in maintaining regional and international peace and security.

The Meeting also exchanged views on regional and international matters that are of common concern and interest to ASEAN and the United Nations, including among others, development agenda towards 2015 and beyond, the situation in Syria, the peace process in the Middle East, in particular the issue of Palestine, disarmament, conflict prevention, peacekeeping, rule of law, human rights, counter-terrorism, international migration, disaster management and response, food and energy security, and sustainable development.  The Meeting also looked forward to the upcoming fifth ASEAN-United Nations Summit, which is scheduled to take place on 10 October in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.

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For information media • not an official record