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ASEAN and SAARC hold consultations in New York

Member countries of ASEAN and SAARC held consultations in New York last Thursday at the United Nations in order to further enhance co-operation between the two groups. The SAARC - ASEAN dialogue was held during the 56th Sessions of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The SAARC delegation was led by Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister and Chairman of the SAARC Council of Ministers, Lakshman Kadirgamar. The ASEAN Delegation was led by U. Win Aung, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Union of Myanmar. All ten ASEAN countries and all seven SAARC countries were represented at the meeting.

The dialogue between the two Regional Groups was first held during the 53rd Session of the UN General Assembly in 1998 on the initiative of Sri Lanka.

Foreign Minister Kadirgamar said that ASEAN and SAARC "are natural partners" for co-operation and observed that the "very organic relationship" which exists between ASEAN and SAARC countries augurs well for the peoples of the two sub-regions. Minister Kadirgamar went on to state that there had been, strong historical and cultural ties between the countries of the two sub-regions for many centuries, and that closer links between the two sub-regions must be forged.

Speaking on the developments in SAARC, Minister Kadirgamar said that the observations of some that SAARC could not work together have been proved wrong. He highlighted the character of "inner resilience" displayed by SAARC and recalled in this respect the holding of the Colombo Summit in 1998 just two months after the nuclear tests had occurred in the region. In this respect, he said the Colombo Summit had produced "a very comprehensive programme" in the economic and social spheres.

In terms of SAARC - ASEAN cooperation, Minister Kadirgamar observed that the presence of representatives of all the countries of SAARC and ASEAN at the present meeting was a clear signal of the commitment and confidence of all the countries towards effective cooperation between the two groupings.

He informed the meeting of developments within SAARC and noted that a process of tariff reduction has taken place within SAARC for over 5,000 items. SAARC is now seeking to work on a "across the board" approach rather than "item by item" approach. He said that work has also been initiated towards a free trade agreement for which a draft treaty framework has been prepared. Minister Kadirgamar noted that the analytical capacity of SAARC has been considerably strengthened. In this respect,he highlighted the process of consultation between the Governors of Central Banks of SAARC countries; the close co-operation between the Chambers of Commerce; the establishment of a network of researchers in the economic filed; co-ordination of positions in multilateral fora such as the WTO; and continued co-ordination of positions among the UN Missions of SAARC countries in Geneva.

Foreign Minister Kadirgamar informed the meeting that after a considerable length of time the XIth SAARC Summit is scheduled to be held in Katmandu Nepal in January 2002. He said that he has always been optimistic about the potential of SAARC and went on to observe that despite some difficulties at the political level, SAARC has continued at technical and functional levels to enhance cooperation in the socio-economic sphere.

The Minister while reaffirming once again that SAARC and ASEAN has a fruitful future together, outlined possible areas of co-operation between the groupings which could be enhanced using the complementarities existing in the two sub-regions.

In this respect, he suggested that the Program of Technical co-operation - relating to business administration, plant and genetic resources and a range of other areas - already initiated between some countries in the two groupings could be further enhanced. He also identified other areas of possible co-operation including: enhanced co-operation and interaction between the two Secretaries: enhancement of private sector co-operation and the institutionalization of such co-operation under the umbrella of SAARC-ASEAN co-operation. Minister Kadirgamar underlined that the issue of Terrorism is a key area in which the two groupings should enhance co-operation and come together to tackle the common problem of Terrorism collectively.

During the deliberations in New York, the Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung, speaking on behalf of ASEAN, said that there is great potential for SAARC-ASEAN co-operation with the two sub-regions comprising 2/3rd of the world's population together the distinct cultural affinities shared by the peoples of SAARC and ASEAN. He said that while there are, in the two regional groups, technologically advanced and highly industrialized countries, there are also countries rich in natural resources, emphasizing that there is great potential for constructive and effective cooperation between the two regional groupings.

In terms of the ASEAN Regional Integration and Economic Cooperation, the Myanmar Foreign Minister mentioned that there is a decline in foreign investment to the region, noting that there is an erosion of ASEAN's competitiveness due to the emergence of new markets elsewhere. He also observed that the widening development gap in ASEAN could undermine regional solidarity.

Recalling the institutionalization of the SAARC-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in September 1998, the Myanmar's Foreign Minister stated that the Members of ASEAN and SAARC are also members of the United Nations, the NAM and G-77. In this respect, he emphasized that SAARC and ASEAN should continue to strengthen their relations by engaging in consultations during the meeting of Foreign Minister's in New York; coordinating positions of common interest in forums such as the WTO as well as in the United Nations, NAM and the G-77. Minister Aung noted that the two groupings could consider cooperation in candidatures in the United Nations; increasing contacts between the two Secretaries-General and their respective Secretariat. The present meeting, he said, provides an opportunity or sharing and learning from each other in order to enhance common understanding and cooperation between the two groups.

Minister Aung also outlined the developments in ASEAN and the outcome of the Seventh ASEAN Summit held in Bandar Seri Begawan earlier in November. He noted that there were two important declarations; the 2001 ASEAN declaration on joint action to counter terrorism, and the Seventh ASEAN declaration on HIV/AIDS. Minister Aung mentioned that ASEAN is committed to counter, prevent and suppress all acts of terrorism in accordance with the UN Charter and taking into account the relevant UN Resolutions.

In their concluding remarks , the Foreign Ministers of Myanmar and Sri Lanka, on behalf of ASEAN and SAARC said that some very useful suggestions have been made for future ASEAN-SAARC co-operation adding that the two Secretariat may be requested to follow-up on the suggestions made at the meeting in order to move these suggestions forward.

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