Opening Remarks by
Ambassador Mochamad Slamet Hidayat
Charge d' Affaires/Deputy Permanent Representative
of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations
at the Seminar on ASEAN Cooperation:
Challenges and Prospect
in the
Current International Situation
New York, 3 June 2003
Distinguished participants,
I should like, first of all, to extend to all of you a warm welcome
to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia and to this
one day Seminar on "ASEAN Cooperation: Challenges and Prospects
in the Current International Situation". I am particularly
pleased this morning that representatives of Permanent Missions,
UN Secretariat, NGGs, scholars and professionals are gathered here
to exchange views and thoughts on ways to bring about security and
prosperity of the people in Southeast Asian region.
In the forthcoming ASEAN Ministerial Meeting to be held in Phnom
Penh in June 2003, Indonesia will take over the Chairmanship of
the ASEAN Standing Committee for the following year. In this regard,
considering the current global situation in the efforts of the international
community to promote peace and stability, it is of particular importance
for us to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by ASEAN
in order to achieve a more prosperous and stable region in the future.
Distinguished participants,
The dynamism of ASEAN today is a tribute to the wisdom and foresight
of its founding fathers as reflected in the Bangkok Declaration
of August 1967. Tempering their idealism with realism and patience,
they worked hard and deliberately guided the fledgling regional
grouping through the first steps in a long and painstaking process
of mutual adjustment of outlooks and policies, of building the institutional
framework and modalities for cooperation and, above all, of nurturing
a new regional consciousness, orientation and identity.
Prior to the 1997 financial crisis, much of ASEAN credibility and
attraction to the outside world was build on the economic success
of its members and their potentials for greater growth. ASEAN's
other strength was the stability of the Southeast Asian region and
the strong cohesion among its members. Today, as we are in the new
century of the new millennium, questions have been raised as to
the future of ASEAN and doubts are again being raised as regards
to its continuing relevance and cohesion.
At the last Summit in Phnom Penh
in November 2003, the ASEAN Leaders had reaffirmed the direction
that ASEAN must take to remain successful and relevant as stipulated
in the ASEAN Vision 2020 and the Hanoi Plan of Action. However,
many challenges lie ahead and if ASEAN is to sustain the recovery
and progress into the future, the Association will need to adjust
itself with the current situation, internally and externally.
Despite of internal difficulties in some of its members, in fact,
Southeast Asia is a region of peace and stability. We have no military
conflict with any of the countries inside or outside the region.
The member countries, through the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), have
implemented confidence-building measures in order to build a pattern
of trust among one another. We also, to some extent, have been able
to manage territorial disputes among member states. These all, among
others, are important factors for us to create ASEAN as a Security
Community based on a fundamental, unambiguous and long-term convergence
of interests among the actors in the region.
Distinguished participants,
I truly believe that we can sustain the ASEAN spirit and solidarity
that has carried us thus far: the ethos of harmony and consensus
seeking, consultation and compromise, cooperation and partnership,
and a keen sense of what is realistically achievable at every point
of our journey ahead. In doing so, we shall remain faithful to our
basic principles and ideas of the Bangkok Declaration that have
enabled us to be masters of our own destiny and active contributors
to the making of a better world.
In light of this, we should reassess our strategy and approaches
towards security and stability of our region. Innovative thinking
combined with faithful adherence to the spirit of the Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation may provide a fresh impetus to our endeavors.
In this regard, I am confident that your deliberations in this Seminar
will contribute to the role that Indonesia is going to take as the
Chairman of ASEAN next year. I therefore wish you all the success
in the vital task that you are about to take on.
Thank you.
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