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As many Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
citizens celebrate the Lunar New Year this week, I would like to take this
opportunity to express my well wishes to all. I would also like to reflect
on new beginnings and look toward the future.
As I am into my first month, many are asking me: How I do see myself in the
role of ASEAN Secretary-General, and what do I see for ASEAN in the five
years horizon.
To the first question of how I see my role as Secretary-General of ASEAN, I
am guided by the mandate of the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN leaders. As one
entrusted by the Charter with the demanding task of seeing through the
implementation of ASEAN agreements and decisions, as well as reporting on
ASEAN’s work in the next five years, I should be able to provide a frank
and learned analysis to our ASEAN leaders to assist them in sustaining
their vision and aspirations for ASEAN.
I should also be able to promote ASEAN and convey its common positions to
our dialogue partners and other external parties.
I believe that a large part of my role is to lead and guide the dedicated
staff of the ASEAN Secretariat. As front-liners and the backbone of ASEAN’s
operations, we serve the ASEAN member states, the various ASEAN organs and
ministerial-sectoral bodies in the building of the ASEAN Community.
The strengthening of ASEAN Secretariat has already received the imprimatur
of our leaders and it will be upon us to carry on the measures to make the
Secretariat more efficient and effective in the delivery of its services.
To the latter question, for the next five years, I believe that ASEAN will
continue to build on the gains of the last 45 years in the three community
pillars.
In the area of peace and security, ASEAN would still continue to provide a
platform for peaceful dialogue and cooperation among member states and with
the rest of the international community.
In doing so, I believe ASEAN has acquired the necessary experience and
confidence to consistently hurdle any challenge to ASEAN centrality and our
regional stability.
ASEAN will also continue to deliver on the wide-ranging measures needed to
transform ASEAN into a strong economic bloc and integrate it into the
global economy.
Likewise, ASEAN will continue to invest in our people and on various areas
such as culture, education, health, environment, food security, among
others, to ensure the ASEAN Community’s well-being and resilience.
But more than building on our achievements, I also see the next five years
as the reckoning time for us — a time for reflection and greater action.
ASEAN will be hitting two critical milestones. By the end of 2015, we
should already have achieved our target of creating the ASEAN Community.
In 2017, we will also be celebrating 50 years of ASEAN’s founding.
To build the ASEAN Community, we need to implement various ASEAN agreements
and decisions by translating regional commitments into national actions.
We must strengthen ASEAN mechanisms and processes, and coordinate various
plans and actions — especially in issues that cut across the three pillars.
Greater support from the general public, civil society, business groups,
etc would be indispensable, thus, we need to redouble our efforts in
communicating and fostering a greater understanding of ASEAN.
Increasingly, the world is watching ASEAN, and consequently, they need to
learn more about our vision and commitments within and outside the region.
Since my first day on the job, I have given my full support to efforts in
conducting more rigorous public outreach and welcomed media through the
gates of the Secretariat.
We are reviewing our roadmap to the ASEAN Community 2009-2015 with its
three community blueprints. There is also the possibility of the ASEAN
Summit deciding to review the ASEAN Charter.
This review process would enable us to stock-take our progress as a
Community. More importantly, this time in ASEAN’s history would not only
engage us to do more soul-searching on the direction and future of our
organization, but also present an opportunity for us to affirm our
commitment to ASEAN’s future.
With all these in store for the next five years, I, together with the ASEAN
Secretariat, have pledged to work closely with the ASEAN member states, as
we move further into 2015 and beyond. ●
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