ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting

On 29 July 2019, H.E. Mrs. Busaya Mathelin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand chaired the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting, prior to the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Post Ministerial Conferences (PMCs) scheduled on 30 July – 3 August 2019 in Bangkok.
The Meeting discussed and finalized the preparations for the 52nd AMM, as well as the Post Ministerial Conferences, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS), including preparations for the 35th ASEAN Summit in November 2019. This included discussions on cooperation with Dialogue Partners in various areas, such as disaster management, marine environment protection, media exchanges, and energy, as well as the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific. The meeting also discussed progress made on connecting the connectivities and promoting complementarities among regional initiatives on development.
The AMM/PMC is traditionally held in between the two Summits hosted by the ASEAN Chair. The 52nd AMM/PMC will be the first opportunity for ASEAN Foreign Ministers to meet with the Foreign Ministers of the Dialogue Partners after the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok. They will have an opportunity to prepare and finalize the Outcome Documents of the 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.
Participants from more than 30 countries and one regional organisation will attend the AMM/PMC. These include the ten ASEAN Member States, ten Dialogue Partners (Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States) and seven countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Bangladesh, DPRK, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste). The Foreign Ministers of Norway, Peru, Switzerland, and Turkey are invited as Guests of the Chair. Currently, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey are Sectoral Dialogue Partners of ASEAN.
Other related Senior Officials’ Meetings will also be held at the sidelines of the 52nd AMM/PMC, prior to the 12th Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting, the 10th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting, the 9th Mekong-Republic of Korea Ministers’ Meeting and the 12th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
Earlier on 28 July 2019, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand hosted a welcome dinner in honour of the ASEAN Senior Officials.
Photo courtesy of www.asean2019.go.th/en/photo/east-asia-summit-senior-officials-meeting-eas-som/