Lazaro Urges ASEAN To Stay United As Global Crises Test Regional Cooperation

From Nabilah Saleh

MANILA, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- ASEAN must sustain its collective resolve as the West Asia crisis, natural disasters and growing pressure on multilateralism test regional cooperation, Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro said.

She said those challenges had complicated the Philippines’ chairship this year, underscoring the need for member states to maintain cooperation beyond the annual rotation of the chair.

“Our chairship may pass from one member state to another, but our collective resolve and fundamental responsibility to ASEAN should remain constant,” she said when opening the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) here on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan also attended the meeting.

Lazaro said the Philippines had worked to strengthen maritime security, disaster preparedness and cooperation against emerging threats while preserving ASEAN’s role as a platform for dialogue with external partners.

“The progress we have made is a collective achievement, and the work that remains is a collective undertaking,” she said.

She said the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia provided an opportunity to reaffirm the principles that had sustained regional cooperation for almost six decades.

Lazaro also highlighted the adoption of guidelines governing ASEAN’s engagement with the treaty’s high contracting parties as part of efforts to put those principles into practice.

On economic integration, Lazaro said ASEAN economic ministers were working towards signing the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement following the conclusion of negotiations this year.

She said the agreement would facilitate cross-border e-commerce, establish common rules on data and digital payments, and help small businesses sell beyond their home markets.

The foreign ministers’ meeting is part of preparations for the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, taking place in Manila from Nov 15 to 17 under the Philippines’ chairmanship theme, “Navigating Our Future, Together”.

– BERNAMA