JAKARTA, 30 June 2015-
The UN and ASEAN will continue to strengthen cooperation and
institutional ties within the framework of the Joint Declaration on
Comprehensive Partnership between the two organisations signed in 2011.
The importance of the ASEAN-UN relations was reaffirmed during the
meeting of the recently appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General for
Political Affairs, H.E. Miroslav Jenča and H.E. Le Luong Minh,
Secretary-General of ASEAN, on 26 June at the ASEAN Secretariat. Both
sides agreed to work towards realising the full potential of the
Partnership.
SG
Minh warmly welcomed Assistant Secretary-General Jenča and thanked him
for visiting the ASEAN Secretariat soon after assuming office in May
2015. This reflected the importance the UN accorded to ASEAN, and in
particular, Mr Jenca's commitment to work with the ASEAN Secretariat to
further expand and deepen ASEAN-UN cooperation.
SG
Minh and Mr Jenča had a good exchange of views on the way forward to
further strengthen ASEAN-UN relations, including a review of the
Comprehensive Partnership and streamlining the various cooperation
mechanisms. Both sides agreed to consider formulating a long-term plan
for ASEAN-UN cooperation, taking into account ASEAN Community Building
Post-2015 and the UN's Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Recognising
ASEAN's important role in promoting regional peace and stability, Mr
Jenča looked forward to further collaborating with ASEAN in various
areas of mutual interest under the political-security pillar, including
strengthening cooperation to address transnational threats such as
maritime security, violent extremism and international terrorism,
trafficking in persons and people smuggling.
Secretary-General
Minh expressed appreciation to the UN and its Agencies for the valuable
experience and expertise extended to the ASEAN Secretariat over the
past years. Noting that institutional collaboration is an important
pillar of ASEAN-UN cooperation, SG Minh and Mr Jenča discussed several
initiatives to further strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the
ASEAN Secretariat to meet new responsibilities and future challenges.
ASEAN-UN
cooperation started in the 1970s and has since expanded rapidly. ASEAN
and its Sectoral Bodies now have working relationships with more than 50
UN Agencies. The Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between
ASEAN and the UN, signed in 2011, serves as an overarching framework
for cooperation between the two organisations.
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