ASEAN and the EC agree to strengthen cooperation<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the
\nEuropean Commission (EC) agreed on Saturday to work to toward
\nfuture cooperation.<\/p>\n
The EC is the executive arm of the European Union (EU).<\/p>\n
"The work plan would reflect the priorities of both sides and
\ninclude a practical time frame, in order to facilitate, expedite
\nand move forward the implementation of ASEAN-EC cooperation of
\nprograms," the organizations announced at the end of the two-day
\n15th ASEAN-EC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting on
\nSaturday in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The last meeting was held in September 2001 in Brussels.<\/p>\n
During the JCC meeting, which was co-chaired by Marty
\nNatalegawa, director general of ASEAN-Indonesia and Erich Muller,
\ndirector for Asia, the EuropeAid Cooperation Office of the
\nEuropean Commission, both the organizations reviewed their
\ncooperation since 2001 and reaffirmed their commitment to promote
\ncooperation with a special focus on policy dialog on mutually
\nbeneficial areas based on the Bali Concord II, Vientiane Action
\nProgram and the New Partnership strategy.<\/p>\n
"We agreed to develop and implement joint initiatives based on
\ncommon interests, in line with their respective regional
\npriorities and needs," the groups said.<\/p>\n
Marty, who is also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' chief
\nspokesman, said ASEAN briefed its counterpart on the tsunami
\ndisaster that killed more than 100,000 people in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"We exchanged information about the recent developments in
\nboth the regions. ASEAN appreciated the EC's commitment to
\nassisting tsunami-affected countries," Marty said.<\/p>\n
Muller described the meeting, which also discussed the agenda
\nfor the forthcoming ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting as successful.<\/p>\n
"We are moving forward," Muller said.<\/p>\n
When asked about the agenda of the ministerial meeting, Marty
\nsaid it would review the developments in the ASEAN and EU
\nregions.<\/p>\n
"The meeting will focus on the issue of reconstruction and
\nrehabilitation of the tsunami-affected areas. It will also
\ndiscuss the international problems like terrorism and
\ntransnational crimes," Marty said.<\/p>\n
Muller said the EU's external relations commissioner Benita
\nFerrero-Waldner along with several ministers from the EU member-
\nstates would attend the ministerial meeting.<\/p>\n
Marty said Myanmar had been invited but still had not
\nconfirmed it would attend.<\/p>\n
The next JCC meeting will be held in Brussels in 2006.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-and-the-ec-agree-to-strengthen-cooperation-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }