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Joint Press Statement of the 2nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 17-18 November 1997



1. The Second ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth was convened from 17-18 November 1997 which was preceded by the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting for the Second ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth 14-15 November 1997 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

2. The Meeting was attended by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports of Brunei Darussalam, H.E. Pehin Orang Kaya Digadong Seri Lela Dato Seri Paduka Haji Awang Hussain; the State Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia, the Honorable Mr. Hayono Isman; the Deputy General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Youth Union, H.E. Mr. Phongsanee Gnouttitham; the Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia, the Honorable Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin bin Hj. Mohd. Yassin and H.E. Dato' Loke Yuen Yow, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia; the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office of the Union of Myanmar, H.E. U Than Shwe; the Presidential Advisor for Youth Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, the Honorable Mrs. Amina Rasul Bemardo; the Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Chairman of the National Youth Council of the Republic of Singapore, the Honorable Mr. Lim Hng Kiang; the Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr. Prasit Damrongchai; and the Chairman of the Vietnam National Youth Committee, H.E. Mr. Vu Trong Kim, and their respective delegations. H.E. Dato' Ajit Singh, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, and members of his staff were also in attendance.

3. His Excellency Tan Sri Dato' Hj. Muhyiddin b. Hj. Mohd. Yassin, Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia and His Excellency U Than Shwe, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office of the Union of Myanmar, were unanimously elected Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Second ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth, respectively.

4. In his Welcoming Remarks, the Chairman noted that the First ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth in Jakarta had made a significant decision to enhance the role of youth in this region. He further noted with appreciation that the recommendations of the First Ministerial Meeting had been successfully implemented. Having achieved considerable progress in this area, he called for the process to move on to a higher plane to consolidate greater cooperation in the ASEAN framework. He observed that the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth has promoted the development of a network of relationships among ASEAN countries. The Chairman extended a wan-n welcome to Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar which were attending the Meeting for the first time and expressed his hope that the Meeting will further strengthen ASEAN solidarity.

5. The Ministers adopted the Kuala Lumpur Agenda on ASEAN Youth Development, which has the following aims:

    - to pursue continuous peace and solidarity, progress and prosperity in the ASEAN region through the positive, active and proactive participation of ASEAN youth, in the spirit of ASEAN fraternity;

    - to prepare and empower ASEAN youth to meet the challenges of globalisation in the 21st century; and

    - to actively promote the understanding of sustainable and balanced development among the younger generation.

6. To achieve these aims, the Ministers agreed to five maj6r strategies for the implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Agenda. These4strategies are:

    - to formulate programmes and activities to strengthen regional solidarity, stability, prosperity and identity;

    - to inculcate the sharing of values, responsibilities and a common vision, and ASEAN fraternity among the young generation;

    - to enhance the spiritual, moral, and cultural values of the youth in order for them to cope with the future challenges of rapid development and globalisation;

    - to equip the youth with appropriate skills and competencies in order to ensure the region's competitiveness; and

    - to foster the development of leadership, human values, entrepreneurship and communication skills and the spirit of voluntarism.

7. The Ministers further identified the following as the priority areas of concern under the Kuala Lumpur Agenda: the strengthening of ASEAN awareness;

    - the promotion of human resource development in line with the rapid economic growth of the region;

    - the attainment of equitable and sustainable development;

    - the enhancement of youth-related research and development (R&D) and the sharing of science, technology and information through effective networking; I

    - the preservation and promotion of ASEAN cultural forms and values;

    - the promotion of youth development as an integral part of national development; and

    - the promotion of the participation of the NGOs in youth activities.

8. The Ministers agreed that a human resources development programme should be developed in view of the importance of education and training for youth development and requested the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Youth to undertake a feasibility study in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat. The Ministers welcomed with appreciation the offer of Malaysia to make available its training facilities to ASEAN Member Countries.

9. To further promote networking among ASEAN youth organisations and 'youth travel in the region, the Ministers agreed to request the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Youth to explore the possibility of :

    a. enabling youth organisations to exchange information with the use of computers, and linking the various youth organisations on the Internet through the ASEANWEB; and

    b. introducing special fares and tour packages for ASEAN youth to foster greater ASEAN awareness.

10. The Ministers agreed to meet at least once in two to three years, and informally in between, as and when necessary. They also agreed that the Third ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth will be held in Myanmar in the year 2000.

11. The Ministers expressed their deep appreciation to the Government and the people of Malaysia for the generous hospitality extended to the Delegations and the excellent arrangements made for the Meeting.

12. The Meeting was held in the traditional spirit of ASEAN cordiality and solidarity.

 

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