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Permanent Mission of the Republic of Singapore to ASEAN
Press Statements and Speeches

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Intervention at the 52nd AMM, Bangkok, Thailand, 31 July 2019

31 July 2019

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Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan attended the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) in Bangkok, Thailand on 31 July 2019.

            Minister Balakrishnan observed that ASEAN today was confronted by a complex environment characterised by global uncertainty, protectionism, and technological disruption. It was therefore timely for ASEAN to focus on innovation, sustainability, and integration. He called for closer cooperation through the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, and highlighted that the signing of the ASEAN Agreement on E-Commerce in 2018 would further facilitate the flow of goods and services across ASEAN. He added that the development of interoperable e-payment and logistics systems across ASEAN would strengthen regional connectivity and benefit the peoples of ASEAN, especially small and medium enterprises.

            In line with Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, Minister Balakrishnan welcomed ASEAN’s commitment and effort in addressing environmental and climate challenges, including combating marine pollution, illegal movement of waste, and transboundary haze pollution. While Minister Balakrishnan noted that the ASEAN region had not experienced prolonged periods of haze pollution in the last three years due to the strong political will of ASEAN Member States in tackling the problem, it remained worrying that the total number of hotspots this year had exceeded that of the same period in 2018. Although good progress had been made in combating transboundary haze pollution, Minister Balakrishnan stressed the need to maintain efforts on that front.

            On the situation in Rakhine State, Minister Balakrishnan reiterated that the commencement of repatriation of displaced persons on a safe, voluntary, and dignified basis remained an immediate priority. He said that racial and ethnic discrimination remained a challenge in all societies and called on ASEAN Member States to take a strong stand against it.



MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
31 JULY 2019

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