The first meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020 was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 9. (Photo: VNA)Jakarta (VNA) – The first meeting of the Committee ofPermanent Representatives (CPR) to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) in 2020 was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 9.
Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Duc Binh, head of the VietnamesePermanent Mission to ASEAN, presided over the event, which also saw theattendance of ambassadors and permanent representatives from other ASEANcountries. ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi was present at the openingceremony.
In his opening remarks, Binh highlighted the theme of the ASEANYear 2020 – “Cohesive and Responsive” and priorities proposed by Vietnam asASEAN Chair for the year.
Priorities have been set to spur the development of the ASEANCommunity, enhance regional connectivity, improve adaptability, take advantageof opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, raise the ASEANidentity, capacity and operational efficiency, promote the group’s central role,and step up its relations and cooperation with partners in order to consolidatea peaceful environment and a secure, stable region.
The Vietnamese mission that holds the CPR Presidency will worktogether with member countries and the ASEAN Secretariat to continueimplementing the 2019-2020 work programme, focusing on strengtheningcoordination in addressing cross-pillar and inter-sectoral issues regarding buildingthe ASEAN Community, improving the capacity and operational efficiency of theASEAN Secretariat, and realising priorities of the Master Plan on ASEANConnectivity 2025 and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration on narrowing thedevelopment gap, the ambassador said.
Binh stressed that the CPR will prioritise the early completion ofeight draft action plans between ASEAN and partners like Canada, China, India,the EU, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the US and the UN during the2021-2025 period, which are expected to be adopted at the ASEAN ForeignMinisters’ Meeting in August, along with draft joint declarations of ministers’meetings and high-level meetings between ASEAN and its partners, includingASEAN 1, ASEAN 3 and the East-Asia Summit (EAS) slated for November.
According to the ambassador, to raise awareness and realise thegroup’s priorities on environmental protection and plastic waste reduction, andimprove the efficiency of CPR meetings, there will be no plastic waste orprinted documents at meetings in 2020.
The initiative has received the approval of other ASEAN member countriesand the ASEAN Secretariat, he said.
Addressing the opening ceremony, ASEAN Secretary General Dato LimJock Hoi lauded the theme of the ASEAN Year 2020 chosen by Vietnam, which hesaid is timely and suitable because amidst fierce competition, risingprotectionism and new security challenges, ASEAN needs to maintain and promoteits central role, intensify economic connectivity, and adapt and utiliseopportunities generated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
To that end, it is necessary for the grouping to improve itsidentity, deepen ties with partner countries and pay more attention toenhancing institutional capacity, he suggested.
Emphasising the CPR’s central position in ASEAN activities, LimJock Hoi said the committee should uphold its significant role in forgingcooperation between sectors in ASEAN Community building activities.
Close relations and collaboration between the CPR and the ASEANSecretariat should be maintained, thus helping to raise connectivity in ASEAN,he said.
Lim Jock Hoi expressed his hope that member countries willincrease all-level meetings in Jakarta, and pledged that the ASEAN Secretariatwill closely coordinate and cooperate with Vietnam to successfully realise thecountry’s priorities and initiatives for the bloc in 2020, laying an importantfoundation for the ASEAN Community to further develop in the years to come.
According to theASEAN Charter, the CPR was put into operation in early 2009, with its tasksfocusing on monitoring the implementation of leaders’ decisions, implementingmaster plans on the ASEAN Community, helping ministers coordinate cross-pillarand inter-sectoral issues, strengthening relations with ASEAN’s externalpartners, and providing substantive and administrative direction and support tothe ASEAN Secretariat./.
VNA
