ASEAN Pacific Alliance reaffirm commitment to enhance relations

JAKARTA, 15 August 2019 – ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance reaffirmed their commitment to forge stronger relations between the two regional organisations during the 5th Meeting between the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) and the Group of External Relations of the Pacific Alliance (GER) held at the ASEAN Secretariat this morning.

The Meeting noted the recent developments in ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance, including the outcomes of the recent 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings, 34th ASEAN Summits as well as the 14th Pacific Alliance Summit.

Both sides also took stock of the implementation of the ASEAN-Pacific Alliance Work Plan 2017-2019 and noted the potentials for greater cooperation under the Work Plan. In this regard, the Meeting agreed to extend the Work Plan to December 2020, while emphasising the need to develop a new Work Plan with a longer timeline to include other areas of cooperation, such as trade facilitation, smart cities, digital economy, climate change, disaster management, renewable energy, connectivity, sustainable development, and cooperation to address the Fourth Industrial Revolution, among others.

Co-chaired by Permanent Representative of Cambodia to ASEAN Ambassador Yeap Samnang and the Ambassador-designate of Chile to ASEAN Gustavo Ayares, the Meeting was attended by the Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, the Ambassadors of Pacific Alliance countries to ASEAN, and representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat.

This meeting was convened ahead of the 6th ASEAN-Pacific Alliance Ministerial Meeting to be held at the sidelines of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2019 in New York.