A “symbolic transfer of leadership” of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) mechanism from Vietnam to Indonesia was held on January 12 at the ASEAN Secretariat.
Opening the ceremony, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, praised and thanked Vietnam for its effective leadership and commendable work last year. He also thanked Indonesia for its tremendous enthusiasm in accepting the responsibilities from Vietnam. He also hoped to see Indonesia “propel ASEAN further onto the global stage,” using CPR as one of the key mechanisms.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who graced the ceremony, reminded that more work needed to be done “to make ASEAN directly beneficial and more meaningful to its people.” He cited the CPR’s key roles in helping make ASEAN more relevant and agile; promoting coordination among the sectoral bodies; and facilitating cooperation between ASEAN and its stakeholders. He went on to say that Indonesia would strive to build on the achievements accomplished under Vietnam’s leadership.
In emphasising that ASEAN needs to be more people-centred, he referred to the possibility of opening up various ASEAN-wide activities to the people through community forums, in the drive towards an ASEAN Community by 2015. He shared the idea that a community forum could be established for each pillar, to encourage the engagement, participation and contribution by the various stakeholders and constituents, such as the academia, media and other civil society groups.
The Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to ASEAN, Nguyen Duc Thang, then handed over a torch replica and a carved wooden hammer, symbolising the CPR Chairmanship, to the Permanent Representative of Indonesia to ASEAN, I Gede Ngurah Swajaya.
The ceremony was followed by the launch of the CPR Portal. Developed by the ASEAN Secretariat, the CPR Portal enables members of the CPR and relevant ASEAN Secretariat officials to share CPR-related documents online. The Portal, as introduced by Ambassador Ngurah, is a way to promote the protection of environment, as it encourages paperless meetings.
The ceremony was concluded with a press conference by Dr Surin and Foreign Minister Marty.
As stipulated in the ASEAN Charter, a Member State assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship shall chair the ASEAN Summit and related summits, the ASEAN Coordinating Council, the three ASEAN Community Councils, relevant ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies and senior officials, in addition to the CPR.
Giang Tu
Vietnamese
