19 January
The Myanmar delegation led by Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin arrived back this evening after attending ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, which was held on 17-18 January 2018 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The Union Minister attended the Working Dinner hosted by Foreign Minister of Thailand Mr. Don Pramudwinai on 17th January and ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat held on 18th January.
At the Retreat, the Ministers exchanged views on Thailand’s initiatives under the theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, priorities of Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship including its proposals on launching of ASEAN Centres, Complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, matters related to ASEAN Community Building and the preparations for the upcoming 34th ASEAN Summit. The Ministers also exchanged views on ASEAN’s external relations and regional and international issues of common interest and concern.
At the Working Dinner, the Union Minister briefed the ASEAN Foreign Ministers in an informal setting on the recent developments in Rakhine State and had a fruitful discussion with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on ways and means to enhance cooperation between Myanmar and ASEAN in facilitating the repatriation process.
In his briefing, the Union Minister U Kyaw Tin informed the Meeting of the recent agreement on the Terms of Reference (TOR) of Needs Assessment to Support Repatriation Process in Rakhine during the visit of the Secretary-General of ASEAN to Myanmar as a follow up to the decision at the 33rd ASEAN Summit. He also apprised the meeting of the work plan of the preliminary and comprehensive needs assessment to be conducted by the AHA Needs Assessment Team according to the TOR. Furthermore, the Union Minister also discussed with ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the AHA Centre’s capacity building programme on disaster management and repatriation process, as well as on the possible areas of cooperation in the repatriation, resettlement and development in the Rakhine State. He also updated on the efforts of preparations made by Myanmar for return of displaced persons in accordance with the bilateral agreements between Myanmar and Bangladesh, progress of the implementation on the MoU between Myanmar, the UNHCR and UNDP and ongoing work of the Independent Commission of Enquiry to address the issue of accountability.
In the Press Statement issued by the ASEAN Chair, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers expressed their agreement on the importance of ASEAN’s role and welcomed the endorsement of the TOR of the Needs Assessment Team during the visit of the ASEAN Secretary-General to Myanmar. The ASEAN Ministers also expressed their continued support for Myanmar’s humanitarian relief programme, agreed to increase the cooperation for sustainable and equitable development in Rakhine State, welcomed Myanmar’s commitment to ensure safety and security for all communities in Rakhine State as effectively as possible, and reaffirmed ASEAN’s support for Myanmar’s efforts to bring peace, stability, the rule of law, to promote harmony and reconciliation among the various communities.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat was held for the first time during ASEAN Chairmanship of Thailand in 2019 under the theme “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”. Thailand will assume the ASEAN Chairmanship from 1st January to 31st December 2019. — Ministry of International Cooperation
