During the year under review, the 26th and 27th Committee on Science and Technology (COST) meetings were held in Singapore on 17-18 September 1992 and in Indonesia on 3-5 February 1993, respectively. The 5th Meeting of the Ministers of Science and Technology took place in Singapore on 21-22 September 1992 along with the 7th and 8th Senior Officials Meetings on Science and Technology which were also held in Singapore on 16 July and 19 September 1992, respectively.

On materials science and technology, the ASEAN-Japan Cooperation Project on Materials Science and Technology was completed in 1992. The Sub-committee on Materials Science and Technology is preparing an evaluation report of the project activities for submission to the 28th meeting of COST. The Sub-committee agreed to develop network mechanisms to collect information related to expertise, equipment availability and common standards on material evaluation within the ASEAN Member Countries.

On meteorology and geophysics, the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre based in Singapore became operational in January 1993. Singapore provided the infrastructure facilities while each ASEAN Member Country would second up to two scientists for assignment at the Centre for a period of up to four years.

On microelectronics and computers, several of the sub-project activities under the ASEAN-Australian Economic Cooperation Program Microelectronics Project have reached prototype stage and are ready for commercialization. These included the HCOM keyboard for handicapped persons, the SRU paging system and the portable ECG machine and expert system. Several workshops and seminars were organized by the Sub-committee on Microelectronics and Computers to facilitate exchanges of information and technology transfer in this regard.

Cooperation in Environment

ASEAN adopted the "Singapore Resolution on Environment and Development" during the Fifth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment in 1992. The resolution embodied the commitment of ASEAN countries to intensify cooperation in environmental management and protection in their common pursuit of sustainable development. In this regard, ASEAN Member Countries continued to work collectively towards the improvement of environmental quality, harmonization of standards and promotion of the application, transfer and development of appropriate environmental technologies.

Cooperation in Culture and Information

ASEAN-COCI carried out the decision of the Fourth Summit on Functional Cooperation by convening an ad hoc Task Force to formulate the Global Thrusts and Priorities during its 27th Meeting held in Singapore on 1-5 February 1993. The Task Force, guided by the Fourth Summit directives, recommended that all COCI projects focus on one or more of these themes: environment, cultural traditions, women, children, drugs and AIDS. Activities selected were in promotion, training and development, research and documentation, conservation and revitalization. ASEAN-COCI agreed to use the Task Force's recommendations as guidelines for discussion at the Combined Meeting of the Culture and Information Working Groups, held in Bali, Indonesia on 10-13 May 1993 to formulate the Global Thrusts and Priorities of the ASEAN-Committee on Culture and Information (COCI) which would be finalized at the 28th ASEAN- COCI meeting in Chiang-Rai, Thailand on 16-20 August 1993.

A number of projects were completed during the period under review. Projects in Literary and ASEAN Studies completed during this period include the ASEAN Writers' Conference Workshop which was held on 3-9 December 1992. The Workshop was attended by writers from all Member Countries and discussed issues ranging from the establishment of a translation bureau, an ASEAN library of language and literature, and a compilation of an anthology of ASEAN women writers.

A number of activities were also completed in the area of Visual and Performing Arts. The Joint ASEAN Performing Troupe was completed in this period. The Third ASEAN Theater Festival was hosted by Thailand on 21-29 November 1992. This year's theme was "ASEAN Theater: New Forms and Directions". Activities included theater performances from all Member Countries, lectures on stage craft and theater productions, and discussions on directing, playwriting and acting. The Second ASEAN Composers Forum on Traditional Music was held on 11-24 April 1993 at the Centre for Music Activities in the National University of Singapore. It was attended by composers, ethno- musicologists and musicians with research backgrounds in Western and/or traditional music.

Cooperation in Social Development

The ASEAN Committee on Social Development (COSD) and its sub-committees/,subsidiary bodies continued to play a pivotal role in promoting ASEAN's cooperative programmes on social development and in translating the Fourth Summit directives into relevant activities. COSD held its 17th Meeting on 24-27 November 1992 in Jakarta.

During the period under review, the AWP reached a milestone in its efforts to promote the Declaration on the Advancement of Women in ASEAN signed by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers in July 1988. At its 12th Meeting held in Singapore on 21-23 April 1993, AWP, after two years of deliberations and consultations, adopted the Guidelines to Operationalize the Declaration on the Advancement of Women in ASEAN and the Recommendations for the Mainstreaming of Women in ASEAN. The Guidelines outline the different measures and steps to be taken at the national, regional and international levels to promote the equitable and effective participation of women in the political, economic, social and cultural fields.

The ASEAN Sub-committee on Education (ASCOE) is a newly established subsidiary body of COSD. ASCOE met for the first time in Jakarta on 10- 12 September 1992. High on the agenda of that first meeting were the Fourth Summit directives concerning the expansion of ASEAN studies in school and university curricula, the introduction of ASEAN student exchange programmes at secondary and tertiary levels of education, and the proposal to establish an ASEAN University.

On labour, the complex world economic environment and greater global competition, the emergence of regional trading blocs, the rising tide of new forms of protectionism, and the formation of AFTA constitute some of the more formidable challenges now confronting labour relations and labour management relations in ASEAN. It was against this backdrop that the 9th Meeting of the ASEAN Labour Ministers was held in Manila on 26-27 November 1992. At this meeting, the ASEAN Labour Ministers expressed their concern over such issues as the forms of restrictions and unfair practices in the field of trade and the linkage of labour and human fights with trade issues.

Cooperation in Drugs and Narcotics Control

Although funding for projects of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drugs (ASOD) has been difficult to obtain in the period under review, the past year has been a fruitful one in fostering more intensive international collaboration on narcotics control between ASEAN and non-member countries. In line with the Fourth Summit Declaration that "ASEAN shall intensify its cooperation in overcoming the serious problem of drug abuse and illicit trafficking at the national, regional and international levels", ASOD invited a representative from RPOL to its 15th Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur on 27-30 July 1992. ASOD also sought and obtained approval from the 26th ASC held on 7-9 October 1992 to invite observers from Laos, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea to its 16th ASOD Meeting scheduled for October 1993.

The 15th Meeting of ASOD was held in Kuala Lumpur on 27-30 July 1992. The meeting reviewed the status of its projects, its cooperation programmes with Dialogue Partners and took note of the latest developments related to drug abuse in the Member Countries. Working group sessions were also convened during the meeting in major areas of concern, among others, preventive drug education, treatment and rehabilitation, and law enforcement and research.

Cooperation in Civil Service Matters

Since the establishment of the ASEAN Conference on Civil Service Matters (ACCSM) in 1987, exchange of views and visits between Member Countries have taken place to promote cooperation in this area.