The Fourth ASEAN Ministerial Meting was held in Manila on 12th and 13th March 1971. The Meeting was chaired by His Excellency, General Carlos P. Romulo of the Philippines. His Excellency, Mr. S. Rajaratnam of Singapore was elected Vice Chairman.

The Meeting was attended by His Excellency, Mr. Adam Malik, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, His Excellency Tun (Dr) Ismail Al-Haj bin Dato Abdul Rahman, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, His Excellency, Carlos P. Romulo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, His Excellency, Mr. S. Rajaratnam, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore and Ms Excellency, Dr. Thanat Khoman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. the Representatives of the Khmer Republic and the Republic of Vietnam who had formally requested to attend the Meeting, were present during the Open Session as Guests of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines.

At the opening session, the Temporary Chairman, His Excellency Tun (Dr.) Ismail Al-Haj bin Dato Abdul Rahman, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and Chairman of the ASEAN Third Ministerial Meeting, convened the ASEAN Fourth Ministerial Meeting. The Temporary Chairman and the other ASEAN Ministers for Foreign Affairs constituted themselves into a Reception Committee to welcome His Excellency, Ferdinand E. Marcos, the President of the Philippines, to the Ministerial Meeting. The Temporary Chairman then invited the President to deliver the Opening Address.

In His Opening Address, the President of the Philippines reiterated the firm support of the Philippine Government for the ASEAN ideals of peace, social justice and economic well-being through regional co-operative action, the spirit of equal partnership, understanding and goodwill. He recalled that countries in the region had been helpless victims of world powers in their ideological power play, and stressed that from this common misfortune grew an awakening to their common identity and community of interests. Citing the need for new directions in regional cooperation, he invited the Ministers to join him in declaring the 70's the ASEAN Development Decade. He stressed that to realize the ultimate goal of establishing an ASEAN Common Market, the Association should take bold steps now by setting up at an early stage a limited free trade area on a selective commodity basis and establishing a payments union within the ASEAN region.

In their policy statements, the ASEAN Ministers for Foreign Affairs emphasized the value of regional collaboration and reaffirmed their determination to intensify the efforts of their respective Governments in this direction. They agreed therefore on the urgent need for the Permanent Committees to work out their respective lists of priority projects which could be implemented as soon as possible.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers reiterated the necessity of close consultation and cooperation amongst their representatives at regional and international forums so that the members of ASEAN would always present a united stand to advance their common interests.

They also took note of the importance of mobilizing more active participation of the private sector in ASEAN activities and agreed that formal cooperation be established between ASEAN and the South East Asia Business Council (SEABC) to promote a vigorous growth in regions. commercial and industrial enterprises.

The ASEAN Ministers for Foreign Affairs approved the Report submitted by the Standing Committee which contained one hundred and twenty one (121) recommendations covering a wide range of projects. These included projects and programmes on tourism, food production and supply, commerce and industry, science and technology, mass media, civil air transportation, shipping, transportation and telecommunications and meteorology.

The Foreign Ministers reviewed the preliminary report of the United Nations Study Team on ASEAN Economic Cooperation and directed that the sectoral studies be pursued.

The ASEAN Ministers for Foreign Affairs signed the Multilateral Agreement on Commercial Rights of Non- Scheduled Air Services Among the ASEAN Nations.

They also agreed to hold the next Ministerial Meeting in Singapore and consequently the next seat of the Standing Committee for this year would be in Singapore.

The Meeting expressed its sincere appreciation to the Government and people of the Philippines for the warm and generous hospitality accorded them and to the ASEAN National Secretariat of the Philippines for the excellent facilities provided and efficient arrangements made for the Meeting.

The Meeting was concluded in the traditional spirit of ASEAN cordiality and mutual understanding.