APEC and ASEAN - Looking for Synergies
Singapore, 11 June 2009 - Today a delegation headed by the Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, Ambassador Michael Tay, is travelling to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in Jakarta to meet with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Surin Pitsuwan, and his staff.
"Both APEC and ASEAN share a common goal, which is to accelerate economic and social development in our members. By exchanging information on what we do to reach this goal we hope to identify areas where collaboration between APEC and ASEAN can generate genuine and practical benefits", said Ambassador Tay.
Ambassador Tay also highlighted the importance of cooperation given the current environment, "Our members are facing threats that they cannot tackle alone, such as economic recession, health pandemics and climate change. Now more than ever regional bodies like APEC and ASEAN have an essential role to play in developing policies and programs that help restore growth and combat disease and environmental damage."
In addition to the high level meeting between Ambassador Tay and Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwam, staff from APEC and ASEAN are meeting to establish professional working relationships in specialty areas.
Representatives from APEC's Project Management Unit will meet with the ASEAN Secretariat's Strategic and Planning Division on Project Management to share best practices and new methodologies for the development of capacity building projects that best suit the needs of their developing economy members.
Other areas of joint interest to be explored include: small and medium enterprises; supply chain connectivity; single window; standards and conformance; health and communicable diseases; and disaster management and humanitarian assistance.
About APEC
APEC works to facilitate economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Its 21 member economies are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America and Viet Nam.
ASEAN is one of three official observers in APEC.
About ASEAN
The aims and purposes of ASEAN are to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to promote regional peace and stability. Its 10 member economies are: Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Indonesia; Lao PDR; Malaysia; Myanmar; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand and Vietnam.