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Mr.
Chairman
ASEAN Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and my thanks to all your people
for looking after us so well. They have gone out of their
way to make us all feel very welcome here in Ha Noi and we
are looking forward to returning a little of your very
generous hospitality next year in Brunei. It will be a
hard job matching you but we will do our best.
Mr. Chairman,
I know you and your staff have had a lot of
work to do over the last year and perhaps I could sum it
up this way;
ASEAN has always tried to keep up with the
times and this means adapting to new situations. That is
why this year we have seen quite a number of changes in
the way we organize the AMM. They have all been aimed at
streamlining the meeting and reflecting current
priorities.
It was left to you, Mr. Chairman, to organize
this and make it a success and I am sure I speak for all
my colleagues in congratulating you and your staff on
doing it most efficiently. So, from all of us, thank you
very much indeed.
Under your chairmanship, ASEAN has tried to
respond effectively to extremely challenging developing
both inside and outside the region and, although there is
still an enormous amount of practical implementation to be
done, I think the association can look back on a year of
useful achievement.
It has continued to strengthen its political
and security dialogue. This is especially so in the ARF
where we are now about to move to the next stage of our
work.
It has also been very encouraging to see
progress in developing the very important ASEAN+3 process.
At the same time, ASEAN relations with
dialogue partners have been well maintained. This has
been particularly important in our efforts to address the
special needs of our newer members.
Mr.
Chairman,
We know that ASEAN must remain a strong force
for peaceful cooperation in the lives of all our people.
We also know that today the association has to satisfy the
many common needs of the hundreds of millions of people of
our region.
It also has to take care of all the special
interests of our fellow members today. So whether in
day-to-day work of our Secretariat, in our various
ministerial meetings, or at the Summit, we all face
far-reaching challenges.
In other words, ASEAN will be once more asked
by its own people to show its ongoing relevance to almost
every aspect of their lives. In this respect, there are
two tasks that are becoming more and more urgent. We have
to accelerate our efforts to narrow the development gap
between our members. At the same time we have to help all
our people acquire the skills and experience they need to
take on today�s world on today�s terms.
If these were not enough in themselves, they
have to be achieved in the face of a global economic
slowdown.
So, I would therefore like to assure you, that
we in Brunei Darussalam will be doing all we can to
promote this vital work for our region. In doing so, of
course, we look forward to the valuable advice and support
of our colleagues, in all our meetings throughout the
coming year and the pleasure of welcoming everyone to
Bandar Seri Begawan next year for the 35th
ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.
Thank you.
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