ASEAN senior officials outline agenda for AMM-48

The proposed agenda for the AMM-48 and related meetings will cover urgent issues to ASEAN development, including the birth of the ASEAN Community later this year and specific cooperation plans in its wake, the continuation of regional integration projects and building new ones, and the ASEAN Vision for 2015-2025.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers are also expected to review the seven years of implementing the ASEAN Charter and reshuffle operations based on the ASEAN Community's three main political security, economic and socio-cultural pillars.

The agenda will also underscore the role of the ASEAN Secretariat, call for consensus on overall blueprints to boost Community connectivity, deepen ties with partners and widen their involvement in the regional architecture, and strengthen ASEAN's central role in peace, stability and development in the region.

Senior officials reached agreement on a common position on international issues of shared concern, including the East Sea issue, the Iranian nuclear programme, the Korean peninsula situation, counter-terrorism, trans-national anti-crime and non-traditional security challenges, which will be submitted to the ministers for consideration.

They also looked at draft documents, including the AMM-48 Joint Statement, chairman declarations and communiqués on dialogues.

The AMM-48, the 16^th ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference+1 sessions with ASEAN Dialogue Partners, the fifth East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the 22^nd ASEAN Regional Forum and other related meetings are scheduled from August 4^th-6^th.