The 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 49) and related meetings are underway in Vientiane, Laos on July 23 - 26.
High on the agenda is internal cooperation, community building, foreign relations, ASEAN’s central role and the implementation of the community vision 2025.
Foreign Ministers from 27 countries (10 ASEAN members and 17 ASEAN partners) attend AMM 49, ASEAN’s most important activity of the year.
The meeting will address the more complicated situation caused by increasing strategic competition between powers and more serious security challenges, including East Sea issues and terrorism. ASEAN is now maintaining a common, principled voice on East Sea issues.
It will discuss a wide range of cooperative areas: internal cooperation, review of relations between ASEAN and its partners, and measures to build trust and preventive diplomacy to prepare for the next development period.
ASEAN community vision, result of consensus
A declaration on “ASEAN 2025: Forging ahead together” approved late last year once again plans the future of ASEAN via a new roadmap for the next 10 years.
The roadmap includes the ASEAN community vision 2025 and master plans to implement the vision based on three main pillars: politics-security, economics, and culture-society.
The formation of an ASEAN community on December 31, 2015, demonstrated the growth of ASEAN, requiring it to prepare carefully for more practical development steps.
The community vision 2025 was formulated on the basis of consensus, reflecting the needs, aspirations, and interests of all members.
Under the vision, the member countries pledge to build ASEAN into a community of peace, stability, and self-reliance with enhanced capability to effectively cope with challenges by 2025.
This community will be linked to the global communities and maintain its central role with dynamic, sustainable, and connected economies.
The ASEAN community should be able to seize opportunities and address challenges in the next decade.
ASEAN 2025: Respect for internal solidarity
The vision sets out directions for ASEAN in different periods. This first period will focus on achieving the target of a politics-security community which cherishes solidarity and self-reliance and creates a peaceful and a harmonious environment for the people.
A prominent feature of this target is that ASEAN’s operation adheres to its common principles and norms as well as international laws on peaceful behaviors between countries and universal values of democracy and the rule of law in a spirit of “unity in diversity”.
Amidst East Sea instability, more than ever before, ASEAN values its solidarity, responsibility and common voice in dealing with strategic issues.
The success of ASEAN and of its goal for peace, security, and stability will depend largely on the community’s solidarity.
Entering its new state of development ASEAN needs to the community’s activities more binding legally to consolidate linkage between member countries.
Despite their similarities, ASEAN members are different in political regime and development level. The noble mission of maintaining regional peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity requires ASEAN to forge its solidarity, uphold its central role in the region, and expand foreign relations.
ASEAN leaders have pledged continued efforts to realise this goal at the upcoming ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
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