The Sixth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting was held at Pattaya, Thailand, 16-18 April 1973. The Meeting was chaired by His Excellency Brigadier-General Chatichai Choonhavan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. His Excellency Mr. Adam Malik, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia was elected Vice-Chairman.

The Meeting was attended by His Excellency Mr. Adam Malik, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, His Excellency Tun (Dr.) Ismail Al-Haj bin Datuk Haji Abdul Rahman, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Ms Excellency General Carlos P. Romulo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, His Excellency Mr. S. Rajaratnam, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore and His Excellency Brigadier General Chatichai Choonhavan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. The representatives of the Khmer Republic and the Kingdom of Laos were present during the open sessions as Guests of the Government of Thailand.

The Meeting was declared open by the Temporary Chairman, His Excellency Mr. S. Rajaratnam, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore. The Temporary Chairman then invited His Excellency Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand to deliver the opening address.

In his opening address, the Prime Minister of Thailand stated that the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, befitting an association of like-minded nations such as ASEAN, has served the members truly and well. In the period of six years, he said, ASEAN has grown in stature and strength through joint efforts. These endeavours have served to high- light the similar cultural roots and historical heritage and to draw the members steadily closer in friendship and mutual trust, which in turn strengthened and augmented the existing bonds of friendship. ASEAN must continue its joint efforts until they achieve concrete results that will truly improve the lives of people in the region.

The Ministers expressed their satisfaction on the progress of ASEAN and felt that the Association had been able to build the kind of cohesiveness which provides firm basis for regional cooperation. In addition, the Ministers recognized that a strong political will, as a vital precondition of ASEAN regional cooperation, should be continuously developed by giving special priority to ASEAN.

The Ministers approved the Annual Report of the Standing Committee 1972/1973 and noted with appreciation the projects completed and the work done by the ASEAN Committees.

The Ministers agreed upon the establishment of the Coordinating Committee for the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Indochina States and expressed views on its work. They felt that ASEAN participation could be jointly effected by making allowances for the preferences of the countries concerned.

Recognizing the importance of ASEAN in promoting cooperation among the governments and peoples of the region in economic, social and cultural and conscious of the fact that ASEAN will be expected to play an increasing role in meeting the expectations of the peoples of the region for greater cooperation, the Ministers decided that the time had come for the strengthening of the structure of ASEAN by establishing a Central Secretariat for ASEAN. To this end they appointed a Special Committee composed of all ASEAN Secretaries General assisted by competent officials of respective member states to study and submit recommendations for their consideration. The Ministers noted with appreciation the offer by the Indonesian Government to have such Secretariat established in Indonesia provided there was no such offer from other ASEAN member countries. The Ministers also noted with appreciation the invitation of the Philippines to hold the meeting of the Special Committee appointed to work out the details of the Central Secretariat.

The Ministers agreed that there was an urgent need to make necessary preparations for, and a collective approach to, the forthcoming Multilateral Trade Negotiations. The Ministers noted that the ASEAN Geneva Committee had been established for this purpose and suggested to explore ways and means for closer cooperation and coordination.

The Ministers acknowledged with appreciation the work of the Special Coordinating Committee of ASEAN (SCCAN) and ASEAN Brussels Committee (ABC) and expressed their hope that EEC would extend meaningful cooperation to ASEAN in order to have a more constructive ASEAN-EEC relationship.

The Ministers considered the indiscriminate expansion of the synthetic rubber industry by Japan and the accelerated export of such rubber and recognized that tills posed a serious threat to the economies of the ASEAN countries. In expressing their grave concern, they urged Japan to review its policy of indiscriminate expansion and accelerated export of synthetic rubber. They agreed that ASEAN officials would work out appropriate measures to meet this threat.

The Ministers directed that appropriate steps should now be taken by ASEAN to implement those recommendations of the UN Study Team which can be agreed upon. The Ministers also felt that appropriate strategies for the ASEAN Development Decade should be drawn up.

The Meeting agreed to hold the Seventh ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Indonesia, and consequently, the seat of the Standing Committee for the next year would be in Jakarta.

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

The Meeting was held in an atmosphere of traditional ASEAN cordiality and mutual understanding.