With the elevation of functional cooperation to a higher plane as a result of the 1995 Bangkok Summit, the Functional Cooperation Bureau has found itself with added responsibilities and tasks. Much more needs to be done in order to achieve the cohesive, caring and competitive society that ASEAN Leaders have envisioned. Moreover the work of the Bureau was further expanded with the enlargement of areas of cooperation in recent times.

For the Bureau to be able to cope with its increased work load, it became necessary to acquire the services of new staff members. With the admission of Laos and Myanmar into ASEAN membership in July 1997, it became possible for the two countries to contribute in various ways to the broad range of ASEAN cooperation, including the assignment of appropriate officials to beef up the ASEAN Secretariat. Thus, two Senior Officers, from Laos and Myanmar respectively, joined the Bureau in late 1997.

Moe Thuzar, known to her friends and colleagues as Moe, brings to the Bureau her wide experience in the Foreign Service of Myanmar. She first visited the ASEAN Secretariat in January 1997 as one of four attachment trainees from Myanmar. Destiny brought her back to Jakarta once again, this time on a more permanent basis. Moe has been attending ASEAN Standing Committee meetings regularly up to her appointment at the Secretariat. She holds a degree in English language and literature from Yangon University, and has studied public policy for her second degree at the National University of Singapore. Moe has also earned a diplome superieur in French literature from the University of Sorbonne. Moe will be attending to social development issues in the Bureau, where she may be able to put to good use a great deal of what she learned in the groves of Academe.

Yong Chanthalangsy, a seasoned journalist, speaks fluent English, French, Vietnamese and Thai, besides his mother tongue, Lao. He earned a diploma in Journalism from the Ecole Superieur de Journalisme de Paris in France and further honed up his skills at the Centre de Formation des Journalistes de Paris in France, and also at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. He is no stranger toASEAN either, for he has headed the Lao COCI Working Group on Print and Interpersonal Media in Vientiane. Yong's work at the ASEAN Secretariat will be related to culture and information matters. His additional duties are on youth and disaster management matters.