During the year 1990-1991, the ASEAN Secretariat has carried out activities in fulfillment of its functions and duties stipulated in the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN Secretariat. The main thrusts of the activities were towards the strengthening of the intra-ASEAN cooperation as well as the promotion of ASEAN's relations with third countries and other regional and international organizations. Focus has also been centred on the working and structure of the ASEAN Secretariat itself as part and parcel of any attempt to strengthen the intra-ASEAN cooperation. In this connection, the Panel of Five Eminent Persons set up pursuant to the decision of the 23rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting has carried out a study on strengthening the structure and mechanism of ASEAN, with special reference to the ASEAN Secretariat. Judged by the activities undertaken during the period under review, the ASEAN Secretariat would continue to play a major role in the overall evolution of ASEAN cooperation.

Attendance at ASEAN Meetings z

2 The Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, and officers of the ASEAN Secretariat attended Ministerial meetings, annual dialogue meetings, meetings of the ASEAN Standing Committee, senior officials in various fields, ASEAN economic committees and ASEAN functional committees as well as some of their subsidiary bodies. In the said endeavours, the ASEAN Secretariat provided background and concept papers as well as assisting in the formulation of the record of the outcome of the meetings. The officers of the ASEAN Secretariat also attended conferences and seminars held under the framework of ASEAN relationship with the dialogue partners. Their role as the resource persons has been an accepted pattern of ASEAN meetings. Further more, they assisted in the meetings hosted by member countries whenever appropriate to do SO.

3 The convening of the Joint Consultative Meeting (JCM) consisting of senior political officials, senior economic officials, and directors- general of the ASEAN national secretariats has been a well-established feature of ASEAN mechanism. The JCM was convened on several occasions to coordinate positions of ASEAN member countries prior to the meetings of APEC senior officials. The Secretary-General of the ASEAN Secretariat was given the task of chairing the JCMS.

4 It was a greed that the JCM would take the leading role in the preparation for the forth- coming Fourth ASEAN Summit in Singapore in early 1992 with full support work from the ASEAN Secretariat.

Attendance at meetings under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)


5 The Secretary-General of the ASEAN Secretariat attended the Ministerial-Level Meeting on APEC in Singapore on 29-31 July 1990. The officials of the ASEAN Secretariat also participated in the various work projects of APEC, the progress of which would be reported to the APEC Ministerial-Level Meeting scheduled for October 1991 in Seoul.

6 The ASEAN Secretariat acted as Joint Rapporteur of the APEC Senior Officials Meetings held in Republic of Korea in October 1990 and March 1991 respectively.


Relations with the Third Countries and
International/Regional Organizations at the
Secretariat Level

7 The Secretary-General of the ASEAN Secretariat was entrusted to explore possibility of establishing new relations between ASEAN and third countries and international/regional organizations as well as to consolidate the existing relations at the secretariat level.

8 In the above context, the Secretary-General visited the General Secretariat of the Union of the Arab Maghreb (UMA) in Tunis, Tunisia at the invitation of the UMA Secretary-General to look into possible areas of cooperation at the end of June 1990.

9 The Secretary-General also made a visit to Suva, Fiji in November 1990 to explore the possibility of strengthening the already existing relations between ASEAN and the Forum Secretariat at the secretariat level. Cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, and human resources development has received great attention.

10 In response to various approaches and indications of third countries and international/ regional organizations for some kind of relation- ship with ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat acted as the processing centre in bringing up the matters for consideration -and decision of the higher authorities in ASEAN.

11 The ASEAN Secretariat has anticipated that in line with the direction set out by the Third ASEAN Summit of 1987, ASEAN relations with third countries and international/regional organizations would be very much expanded in the near future due to the process of increasing economic interdependence and political realignment.


Venue of ASEAN Meetings

12 The ASEAN Secretariat hosted, among others, the following ASEAN meetings during the year :-

a) The Japan-ASEAN Cooperation Promotion Programme (JACPP) Meeting, 5 July 1990.

b) The Japan-ASEAN Exchange Programme (JAEP) Management Committee Meeting, 9 July 1990.

c) The ASEAN Joint Consultative Meeting (JCM), 26 July 1990.

d) The First ASEAN-ROK Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee (JSCC) Meeting, 11-14 August 1990.

e) Meeting of the ASEAN-ROK Joint Management Committee (JMC), 11 January 1991.

f) The Extraordinary Budget Committee Meeting, 28-29 January 1991.

g) The 15th Meeting of the ASEAN Audit Committee, 25-28 February 1991.

h) The 11th Meeting of the Advisory Group on ASEAN Cultural Fund, 24-25 April 1991.

i) The ASEAN Preparatory Meeting for the 2nd Meeting of the ASEAN-ROK JSCC, 30 April-1 May 1991.

13 The ASEAN Secretariat building was also the venue of the National Day Receptions of the Philippines in June 12, 1990 and June 12, 1991 respectively.

14 The ASEAN Secretariat facilitated the convening of the Fourteenth Budget Committee Meeting in Yogyakarta, on 20-24 May 1991.

15 Various meetings with the UNDP were conducted at the ASEAN Secretariat, notably, the meeting of ASEAN-UNDP Technical Co- operation Review on 21 June 1990 and 15 February 1991. The ASEAN-UNDP seminar workshop on Project Assessment and Evaluation was successfully organized at the ASEAN Secretariat.

16 As the executive agency of the project of ASEAN Macro-economic Outlook, the ASEAN Secretariat has been exerting utmost efforts in bringing about an early and successful implementation of the project. In this regard, the ASEAN Secretariat organized a coordinating meeting on the ASEAN Macroeconomic Outlook on 19 January 1991.

17 The ASEAN Secretariat, entrusted by the UNDP with the approval of ASEAN to be the executive agency for the UNDP's assisted study on ASEAN Economic Cooperation in the 1990's, held a meeting on the subject on 5 May 1991.

18 Although not assigned as the executing agency for the UNDP's assisted study of the Panel of Five Eminent Persons, the ASEAN Secretariat played a major role in coordinating the efforts of all concerned so as to facilitate the preparation of the Report of the Panel on Strengthening the Structure and Mechanism of ASEAN, with Special Reference to the ASEAN Secretariat.

19 The ASEAN Secretariat manages and administers the following funds :-

a) ASEAN Cultural Fund Operational Account.

b) ASEAN Science Fund.

c) Japan Scholarship Fund for ASEAN Youth.

d) ASEAN Regional Studies Promotion Programme (ARSPP).

e) Japan - ASEAN Cooperation Promotion Programme (JACPP).

f) Canadian Technical Assistance (Library Fund).

g) ASEAN-Japan Special Cooperation Fund.

ASEAN Day Celebrations

20 The ASEAN Day on 8 August 1990 represented the 23rd Anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN. Various activities were conducted under the auspices of the ASEAN Secretariat to highlight the significance of the ASEAN Day. The diplomatic missions of ASEAN member countries in Jakarta and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia gave full support to the holding of sports events in celebration of the ASEAN Day. The hallmark of those events was the enthusiastic participation of officials and members of their families, thus strengthening the already strong ties of friendship and the deep sense of solidarity.

21 On 8 August 1990, a flag-raising ceremony was performed at the premises of the ASEAN Secretariat with the attendance of ASEAN Ambassadors, diplomats, members of their family, and the staff members of the ASEAN Secretariat. The Secretary-General hosted the reception in the same evening attended by high ranking officials of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, members of the diplomatic corps, and the prominent figures from the business sector and cultural circle of Jakarta.


Information Services

22 Dissemination of information on the activities of ASEAN to the general public was normally conducted through the various publications of the ASEAN Secretariat and prompt replies to queries about ASEAN activities. The members of the staff at the ASEAN Secretariat held talks, discussions and briefing to visitors including journalists, researchers, officials from ASEAN member governments and third countries, and groups of university students. The Public Information Section also supplied relevant information about ASEAN to inquirers from within and outside ASEAN, who were interested in ASEAN activities. During the period under review, there was a marked increase in the number of inquiries about ASEAN activities and ASEAN's future direction. The ASEAN Secretariat also held briefing for visiting politicians, parliamentarians, members of national defence colleges, groups of civil servants from various countries who wished to learn more about the machinery and substance of ASEAN cooperation.

23 Over 600 university students from various universities and higher institutions in Indonesia visited the ASEAN Secretariat on several occasions during the year under review. They were briefed on the background and various aspects of ASEAN cooperation with special emphasis on present activities and prospects for the future. Films about ASEAN were from time to time shown to give audio-visual reflection of ASEAN Cooperation. Publications on ASEAN were also distributed during the said visits. Briefing and discussions also took place among the ASEAN Secretariat staff and scholars or academics conducting research on ASEAN. A new development was an increasing interest in ASEAN's role and position in the concept of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as well as measures to strengthen intra-ASEAN cooperation.

24 A number of publications were produced during the period under review, namely :-

a. The Annual Report of the ASEAN Standing Committee, 1989 - 1990

b. Statements of the 23rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Post Ministerial Conferences with the Dialogue Partners, Jakarta, 1990

c. ASEAN Newsletter - twelve monthly

d. Press Releases (occasional)

e. Monthly Calendar of ASEAN Meetings

f. Monthly Selected Press Clippings on ASEAN News and Views - 12 issues (only for selective distribution)

g. ASEAN Documents Series, 1989-1991

h. Investing in ASEAN