DOCSLIB.ORG

181118Asean UPDATED-5

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
181118Asean UPDATED-5 What did they WHAT DID From achieve?THEY ACHIEVE? Quite a bit. Key highlights last week were: Can you sing 33rd Asean Summit Lyrics for “The ASEAN Way” Pledge to seal RCEP in 2019 in numbers Asean nations, Australia, China, the Asean Anthem? India, Japan, South Korea and New Raise our ag high, sky high Zealand have been negotiating the • Local community choir The Vocal • This, however, did not faze Thai 1 Regional Comprehensive Economic Consort charmed audiences at the Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha Embrace the pride in our heart Partnership (RCEP) since 2013. This summit’s opening ceremony last and Indonesian President Joko year, they concluded ve more Tuesday with a rousing rendition of Widodo, who were spotted Asean we are bonded as one chapters of the pact, bringing the the Asean Anthem. mouthing the words to the lyrics Looking out to the world. trade talks number of sealed chapters to While the Asean ag has since with relative gusto. • seven (out of 18). They also pledged become a recognisable symbol of • The song made its debut at the For peace, our goal from the very start to reach a deal next year. the region, not many would know 2009 Asean Summit in Hua Hin, And prosperity to last. to Trudeau’s the lyrics to the anthem, titled The Thailand, about a year after a panel Smart Cities Asean Way. of judges unanimously voted it as We dare to dream, we care to share. Leaders adopted a blueprint for the winner of a regional cities in Asean to work with one songwriting competition. Together for Asean 6• Number of meals the 10 Asean 2 another and outside partners to we dare to dream, leaders shared. tap digital technology to develop • Last Tuesday, a working dinner. we care to share for it’s the way of Asean. economic opportunities, • Last Wednesday, an informal breakfast infrastructure and a sustainable summit with Australian PM Scott Morrison; living environment for their people. a working lunch that included Canadian PM 26 cities are in the pioneer batch of Justin Trudeau, Chilean President Sebastian the Asean Smart Cities Network Pinera and International Monetary Fund socksSingapore saw a rush of diplomatic activity last (ASCN). They include all 10 capitals managing director Christine Lagarde; week as it hosted the 33rd Asean Summit. as well as cities like Da Nang, Luang and a gala dinner. Prabang, Makassar, and Mandalay. The Sunday Times recaps the highlights. • Last Thursday, an informal breakfast Movement on a COC Asean veterans in the spotlight summit with Indian PM Narendra Modi; and an East Asia Summit lunch retreat. Asean countries and China have been discussing a code of conduct What were the (COC) to build trust and prevent 3 miscalculations in disputed waters, WHAT WERE THE and recently agreed on a single meetings about? draft negotiating text. Last week, MEETINGS ABOUT? they agreed to complete a rst • The Asean chairmanship is rotated reading of the draft text by next among all 10 members and each chairman year, and work towards concluding hosts two summits a year. The rst, usually a code early. held mid-year, takes stock of regional 6,650 cooperation efforts. AHA Centre to help Rohingya • Number of Home Team • The second, towards the year-end (like The exodus of over 700,000 ofcers mobilised for last week’s) also involves key partners Rohingya to Bangladesh from the event. discussing wider issues and strengthening Myanmar’s Rakhine State has • They were assisted ties with Asean. 4 created Asean’s largest by the Singapore • It culminates in the East Asia Summit, humanitarian crisis in years. Armed Forces and which groups all 10 members as well as Myanmar has invited the Asean technology – like Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Coordinating Centre for Who has attended the most Asean October last year. adding that “some quarters are The Rohingya issue has sparked the Police New Zealand, Russia and the United States. Humanitarian Assistance on summits? The answer is not But senior to him in age is making a big fuss of the President concern among several members, patrol robot. disaster management (AHA Centre) Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Philippine President Rodrigo skipping a few meetings”. and all eyes were on how Dr to send a needs assessment team Mohamad (above), though at 93, he Duterte (third from left), 73, whose “We assure the nation that his Mahathir, who was seated next to to facilitate the repatriation is denitely the oldest leader at absence from several meetings aforementioned absence has Ms Suu Kyi — a former political What happens process. this year’s summit. made headlines last week. nothing to do with his physical prisoner — at meetings, would Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (second His no-shows last Wednesday health and well-being, which have broach the issue with her. next? Asean centrality from left) of Brunei, has attended prompted a statement from his been the subject of speculation,” he He told The Sunday Times: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Asean’s partners have proposed Asean meetings for 34 years, more ofce explaining that he had only added. “People who had been under • Thailand takes over as the next Asean various concepts of a free and open than a decade longer than Tun Dr had three hours of sleep the night Myanmar State Counsellor Aung detention should understand the chair and has pledged to work on Indo-Pacic (FOIP). Asean leaders Mahathir. before. San Suu Kyi (right), also 73 and a sufferings of people who are enhancing connectivity across the region 5 stressed the need to support The 72-year-old Sultan, who is “He took power naps to catch few months younger than Mr oppressed.” and focus on sustainable development. Asean unity and centrality, be clear also Prime Minister of Brunei, (up) on sleep,” presidential Duterte, made the headlines for • Singapore will also continue to help about economic engagement with celebrated his Golden Jubilee in spokesman Salvador Panelo said, another reason. shepherd the Asean Smart Cities Network. the region, espouse a rules-based As for other matters such as code of Prime Minister Lee Hsien order anchored upon international Loong handing over the conduct, Asean members have their work law, and support an open, chairmanship to Thai PM cut out to stay united and work towards transparent and inclusive regional Prayut Chan-o-cha at the realising these economic and security goals architecture. end of the Asean Summit to benet the region’s 650 million people. last Thursday. Journalists on the job • While several of the world leaders • Mr Nikolai Ivanov, a correspondent were busy at different high-level with Russian TV news channel Mic meetings, media colleagues from Izvestia, was seen holding up a US$1 trillion various publications and agencies copy of The Straits Times on (S$1.37 trillion) were busy too. camera. He said he was telling • In between furiously typing out viewers in Russia about ST’s • Joint target for two-way trade between news reports and rushing to the coverage of Russian President Asean and China by 2020, which countries next important doorstop interview, Vladimir Putin’s visit, as well as agreed to work towards at the Asean-China From Asean journalists found time to grab some Asean-Russia relations. Summit with Premier Li Keqiang. good food at the Suntec City handshake… convention centre. to Asean wave US$200 billion • One key change under Singapore’s Asean chairmanship • Joint target for two-way trade between was the change from leaders Asean and India by 2022, highlighted at the locking arms for the group photo, Asean-India Informal Breakfast Summit with to waving with their right hands. PM Narendra Modi. • The traditional “Asean-way • This gure is also the projected value of handshake” has often befuddled Asean’s Internet economy by 2025, which invited guests. will be helped by the Asean e-commerce Sock diplomacy agreement inked last Monday. • At last year’s summit in Manila, US President Donald Trump was seen • Apart from being one of the white and red pattern, matching his layers of purple, pink and grey. using both hands to clasp the (visibly) younger statesmen in town, suit, shirt and tie. • His sock choices last week were extended ngers of Vietnamese Canadian Prime Minister Justin • At a bilateral meeting with Prime more conservative, though he has Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Trudeau, 46, is also known for his Minister Lee Hsien Loong the next donned more creative designs. For leaving Philippine President sartorial savvy – in particular, day, he showed off socks in shades May the Fourth, a day Rodrigo Duterte with a spare hand. socks. of blue, black and grey – once again commemorating the Star Wars At the corner of the photo, Russian Mr Trudeau, who was invited to impeccably matching his clothes. lms, he wore mismatched socks PM Dmitry Medvedev held out both • the meetings as Canada is • On a visit to the National featuring R2-D2 and C-3PO hands instead of doing the separately. He even wore a pair of 80,000 president of the G-7 group of University of Singapore, where he traditional “crossover” for the Asean advanced nations, did not joined in a town hall discussion, on purple and yellow socks with ducks • Number of Asean residents Japan aims to handshake. disappoint. At the Four Seasons Thursday, he was seen with to the World Economic Forum support training for in the next ve years in Hotel on Tuesday, he sported a pair patterned socks in contrasting summit in Davos in January. sectors like articial intelligence, under its of socks with a geometric blue, Industrial Human Resource Development Cooperation Initiative 2.0.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • General Assembly Distr.: General 19 May 2021
    United Nations A/75/885 General Assembly Distr.: General 19 May 2021 Original: English Seventy-fifth session Agenda item 38 Question of Palestine Letter dated 17 May 2021 from the representatives of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General We have the honour to transmit herewith to you the joint leaders’ statement of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam on the escalation of violence by Israelis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory issued on 16 May 2021 (see annex). The joint statement expressed several expectations, inter alia, for both parties to accept a temporary international presence in the City of Al-Quds and to monitor cessation of hostilities, as well as for the Security Council and the General Assembly to address the grave developments. In this regard, we strongly support the convening of the General Assembly formal plenary meeting on Thursday, 20 May 2021, as announced by the President of the Assembly, in line with the spirit contained in the joint statement as agreed by the leaders of the three countries. We kindly request that you circulate the present letter and its annex to all States Members of the United Nations as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 38. (Signed) Mohammad K. Koba Deputy Permanent Representative Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations (Signed) Dato’ Syed Mohamad Hasrin Aidid Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations (Signed) Noor Qamar Sulaiman Permanent
    [Show full text]
  • Southeast Asia from the Corner of 18Th & K Streets
    Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies Southeast Asia from the Corner of 18th & K Streets Volume IV | Issue 21| October 17, 2013 China’s Charm Offensive Signals a New Strategic Era in Southeast Asia Inside This Issue biweekly update phuong nguyen Phuong Nguyen is a research associate with the Sumitro Chair for • Kerry attends U.S.-ASEAN and East Asia Southeast Asia Studies at the Center for Strategic and International summits Studies in Washington, D.C. • APEC Leaders Meeting concludes in Bali October 17, 2013 • Chief justice of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court arrested on bribery charges looking ahead The just-completed tours of Southeast Asia by China’s president Xi Jinping • Conference on strategic stability in Asia and premier Li Keqiang had the feel of a new “charm offensive” and attracted significant media attention. Xi visited Malaysia and Indonesia, • CSIS 2013 Global Security Forum where he traveled to Jakarta and then attended the Asia Pacific Economic • Hugh White at CSIS Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bali. Li, meanwhile, made stops in Brunei for this year’s East Asia Summit before traveling to Thailand and Vietnam. These visits were not an attempt to take advantage of President Barack Obama’s absence in Asia because of the government shutdown in Washington. Although the Chinese leadership unarguably saw Obama’s absence as a not-to-be-missed diplomatic opportunity, their visits were primarily efforts to begin correcting Beijing’s policy missteps, especially in the disputed South China Sea, that created friction between China and the members of ASEAN in recent years. They signaled Beijing’s growing confidence in its ability to use economic leverage to craft policy toward ASEAN.
    [Show full text]
  • Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreements on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, the Presiden
    Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreements on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation The Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, the President of the Republic of Indonesia,the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand; RECALLING the Framework Agreement on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation ("the Agreement") signed on 28 January 1992 at the Fourth Summit Meeting held in Singapore; DESIRING to expedite the implementation of the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA); NOTING that Article 1 2A of tile Agreement provides for amendments to it; HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1 Article 2, section A, paragraph 1 of the Agreement shall be amended by deleting the expression "l5 years" and substituting it with the expression "l0 years (beginning I January 1993)". ARTICLE 2 The following shall be inserted after Article 1 2 as a new Article 1 2A to the Agreement: "Accession of New Members New Members of ASEAN shall accede to the Agreement oil terms and conditions consistent with it and which have been agreed between them and the existing Members of ASEAN.". ARTICLE 3 This Protocol shall enter into force upon the deposit of instruments of ratification or acceptance by all signatory governments with the Secretary-General of ASEAN which shall be done not later than 1 January 1996. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, who shall promptly furnish a certified copy thereof to each Member Country. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have signed the Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreement on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation.
    [Show full text]
  • Will “America First” Leave America Alone? – the Trump Administration’S Trade Policy in the Indo-Pacific Region Author Darah Phillip by Darah Phillip
    Special Article 2 Will “America First” Leave America Alone? – The Trump Administration’s Trade Policy in the Indo-Pacific Region Author Darah Phillip By Darah Phillip President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans- ties with the US. Pacific Partnership (TPP) in one of his first acts in office on Jan. 24, For the US and Japan, the TPP created an opportunity for the two 2017. The withdrawal was an early demonstration of his nationalistic, countries to pursue an economic relationship to match and “America First” trade philosophy. Trump’s initial argument behind complement their longstanding bilateral security alliance. Under the leaving the TPP was that the US, and American workers in particular, guise of tying Japan’s economy with that of the US, the TPP enabled would be worse off in the trading bloc. He also insisted that he was a Japanese negotiators to counter domestic resistance to trade in areas tougher negotiator than former President Barack Obama and that he such as agriculture by leaning on the strategic imperative of using the could negotiate a better deal for Americans. Three and a half years agreement to mitigate Japan’s growing economic dependence on after leaving the TPP, however, the Trump administration has not China. produced a trade framework in the Indo-Pacific region to surpass, let The TPP was also expected to encourage growth in US trade with alone rival, the TPP. Instead, the US may be more isolated from its Vietnam and Malaysia, two countries with high trade barriers and yet economic partners in the region today than it was in 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • Asean Charter
    THE ASEAN CHARTER THE ASEAN CHARTER Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. =or inquiries, contact: Public Affairs Office The ASEAN Secretariat 70A Jalan Sisingamangaraja Jakarta 12110 Indonesia Phone : (62 21) 724-3372, 726-2991 =ax : (62 21) 739-8234, 724-3504 E-mail: [email protected] General information on ASEAN appears on-line at the ASEAN Website: www.asean.org Catalogue-in-Publication Data The ASEAN Charter Jakarta: ASEAN Secretariat, January 2008 ii, 54p, 10.5 x 15 cm. 341.3759 1. ASEAN - Organisation 2. ASEAN - Treaties - Charter ISBN 978-979-3496-62-7 =irst published: December 2007 1st Reprint: January 2008 Printed in Indonesia The text of this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted with proper acknowledgment. Copyright ASEAN Secretariat 2008 All rights reserved CHARTER O THE ASSOCIATION O SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PREAMBLE WE, THE PEOPLES of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as represented by the Heads of State or Government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: NOTING
    [Show full text]
  • WHY WE NEED the TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP and HOW to GET IT RIGHT by William Krist
    MAY 2015 WHY WE NEED THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP AND HOW TO GET IT RIGHT By William Krist William Krist is a Senior Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C. His book Globalization and America’s Trade Agreements was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2013. This is a condensed version of an essay appearing in the Summer 2015 issue of Orbis, published for FPRI by Elsevier, which is a revised version of a paper he delivered at a conference on “Strategic Rebalancing and the Trans- Pacific Partnership,” cosponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Woodrow Wilson International Center, and held at the WWIC in October 2014. Orbis can be accessed here. The United States and 11 other countries are negotiating an enormous trade agreement, the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP), which will have a major impact on the world economy and help shape the future rules governing international trade. These negotiations began in earnest in 2008 among the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Subsequently, they have expanded to include Canada, Japan and Mexico. Today, they are arguably the most important trade negotiations since the World Trade Organization went into effect in 1995. Success in these negotiations is significant for both U.S. commercial and foreign policy interests. It is important to conclude these negotiations in 2015, however, because the agreement will need to gain Congressional approval to go into effect. In 2016, all members of the House and one-third of the Senate will be up for election, and many members of Congress will be under substantial pressure to oppose further opening the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Joint Letter on Cambodia Re: Paris Peace
    Mr. António Guterres, Secretary General, United Nations Mr. Joko Widodo, President, Republic of Indonesia (Co-Chair of the 1991 Paris Conference on Cambodia) Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President, The French Republic (Co-Chair of the 1991 Paris Conference on Cambodia) 23 October 2017 Re: Request to reconvene the Paris Conference on Cambodia, in light of the Cambodian government dismantling of democracy Dear Secretary General Guterres, President Widodo, and President Macron, We, the undersigned international and regional organizations, write to you on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Conference on Cambodia, which was co-chaired by France and Indonesia. The Paris Conference led to the signing of the historic Paris Peace Agreements, and aimed at ending Twenty-six years later, there is an urgent need for decisive action from the international community, to ensure that the democratic vision for Cambodia outlined in the Paris Peace Agreements is not completely foresaken. The Paris Peace Agreements created clear legal obligations upon the signatories including the obligation to immediately undertake appropriate consultations with the members of the Paris Conference in the event of the agreements being violated.1 These obligations exist to this day, despite Cambodian Prime the Paris Peace agreement is like a ghost 2 We respectfully submit that your obligation to take concrete action under the Paris Peace Agreements has now been triggered as a result of the severe deterioration in the state of human rights and democracy in
    [Show full text]
  • Remarks Following a Meeting with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei March 12, 2013
    Mar. 12 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2013 when it comes to Government spending, ev- ating, and we can start cutting through some of erybody thinks it’s all the same. I think every- the redtape and get things done. body around this table knows in your business- So continue to provide us with recommen- es, you think very differently about capital in- dations. We’ll work them through. There’s an vestments, long-term investments that are go- interagency process; it’s a good way for us to ing to make your company more competitive, break down some of the silos that develop be- versus wasting money. And here’s an example tween various agencies. And I think we can of where we should be doing less of some make significant improvement and continue to things that are not helping us grow. Building build on the goals that we’ve set. infrastructure is something that does help us grow. Okay? Thank you, everybody. All right, guys, I think you’ve got smarter OTE: The President spoke at 10:22 a.m. in people around the table than me to deal with N some of these issues. Again, I just want to Room 350 of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Exec- thank all of you who’ve been involved. We are utive Office Building. In his remarks, he re- going to continue to push this agenda. ferred to Acting Secretary of Commerce Re- One of the things I hope that you’ve seen becca M. Blank; Robert A. Iger, president and during the course of these last 4 years is that if chief executive officer, the Walt Disney Com- we hear good ideas, we’ll implement them, pany; Under Secretary of the Treasury for In- we’ll move them.
    [Show full text]
  • Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health Volume 2, 2007
    Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health Volume 2, 2007 BRUNEI DARUSSALAM JOURNAL OF HEALTH The Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health (BJH) is published annually by the Institute of Medicine, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. It is also available on the website of the university library accessed through www.ubd.edu.bn. The BJH publishes peer-reviewed articles pertaining to health in the form of original research findings, review articles, novel case reports of general interest, and original commentaries. Review articles are normally submitted after consulting the editorial board of the BJH. Manuscripts submitted for publication should meet the following criteria: the material should be original; for research articles, the methods used should be appropriate; results should be unambiguous and supported with data, appropriate use of statistics, and illustrations; conclusions should be reasonable and based on the findings; the topic should be of general health interest. Research involving human subjects or animals should have been approved by the relevant ethical committees. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the Guidelines set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Details are available on the website www.icmje.org. A current issue of the journal may also be consulted for formatting articles. Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word™ format on a CD-ROM or via email ([email protected]). All correspondence regarding submission of manuscripts should be addressed to: Chair, Editorial Board, Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health, Institute of Medicine, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam. Telephone +673-2453001 ext 1965, email: [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • UK's Boris Johnson Under Pressure
    MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2019 12 UK’s Boris Johnson under pressure south London property, shortly He instead tried to focus on give an explanation.” been slashed from 27 per cent mer London mayor over Friday’s The paper said after Johnson had secured his his policies, saying “we need to Former Tory foreign office to nine percent since Friday, the domestic incident. • place in the final run-off to be- get Brexit done” and promising minister Alan Duncan -- anoth- poll suggested. Johnson’s partner come prime minister. to prepare Britain for a no-deal er Hunt supporter -- told the But only the Conservative Bannon claims Carrie Symonds could The paper said Johnson’s exit from the EU, if a deal cannot Guardian newspaper his former Party’s 160,000 members get to “Stuff happens at home all be heard telling the partner Carrie Symonds could be reached. boss now had a “big question choose between Johnson and the time... someone spills the former London mayor be heard telling the former Lon- mark over his head”. Johnson Hunt. And their support for wine, we can’t really be making don mayor to “get off me” and ‘Lack of discipline’ had shown a “lack of discipline” Johnson appeared undimmed on headlines out of that,” supporter to “get off me” and “get out of my flat”. Johnson’s leadership rival throughout his career, he added. Saturday, at the first of a series Hasnain Ahmed, 23, said. “get out of my flat” The former foreign minister Hunt told Sky News on Sunday According to the Survation of “hustings” -- internal party “What’s important is what’s refused to answer questions that “someone who wants to be poll in the Mail yesterday, Hunt debates to decide the new leader.
    [Show full text]
  • Japan Has Been a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN for a Long Time. with China's Influence Looming Large in Southeast Asia and The
    Minister Fumio Kishida’s Interview with Brunei Times and Borneo Bulletin (June 29 2013) Japan has been a dialogue partner of ASEAN for a long time. With China’s influence looming large in Southeast Asia and the United States’ renewed interest in Asia-Pacific, does Japan see greater engagement with ASEAN? Japan-ASEAN relations and Japan’s bilateral relations with each ASEAN country with which we feel deep friendship occupy a very important position in our diplomacy. The importance of ASEAN has been growing even more as the Asia-Pacific’s regional situation has been changing in recent years. The fact that our government attaches great importance to ASEAN is well reflected in our decision to have chosen ASEAN countries as the first destination for official visits by Prime Minister Abe, Deputy Prime Minister Aso and myself last January. On the basis of the five principles of Japan’s ASEAN diplomacy announced by Prime Minister Abe in Indonesia, Japan is resolved to strengthen its relations in all areas, including politics, security, the economy, culture and people-to-people exchange. We also consider that the United States’ policy of giving prominence to the Asia Pacific region is important for regional peace and stability. This year marks the 40th year of Japan-ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation. Japan will hold a Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in Tokyo this coming December. At the Summit meeting, we would like to discuss our mid to long term vision for fostering Japan-ASEAN relations, and realise our motto for the 40th anniversary “Thoughts Connected, Future Connected”. Japan is Brunei’s top export destination for oil and gas with exports reaching about $7 billion in 2012, as well as one of its key investors.
    [Show full text]
  • Official National Statement by Brunei Darussalam Third UN World
    Official National Statement by Brunei Darussalam Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction Madam President, Exellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, At the outset, allow me to convey His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s sincere apologies for not being able to be here today due to a prior commitment. Thank you to the Government and people of Japan for their warm and generous hospitality accorded to us. Our congratulations to the government and people of Japan on the successful organisation of this significant event. The presence of His Majesty the Emperor Akihito and Her Majesty Empress Michiko during the opening ceremony of the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction signified the importance of this conference to not only Japan, but also the rest of the world. Brunei Darussalam is not a disaster prone country. We are committed to being actively involved and have taken part in supporting and carrying out post-disasters relief operations in the region. Since the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) was adopted a decade ago, we have seen notable accomplishments especially for us. Our own Strategic National Action Plan is based on the five priorities of the HFA. Preparedness activities, disaster response programmes and risk mitigation projects are the basis of our Strategic National Action Plan Framework. In line with our ASEAN commitment, Brunei Darussalam attaches importance on implementing the ASEAN Agreement of Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) and manifesting the region’s commitment to the implementation of the post 2015 HFA.
    [Show full text]