Press Statement by the Chairman of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat

1. I chaired the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on 17-18 January 2019 in Chiang Mai. The Retreat is the first gathering of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers under Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2019 with the theme, “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, which the Foreign Ministers welcomed.

2. We had fruitful discussions on ASEAN’s priorities for the year ahead, as well as exchange of views on regional and international developments. We discussed the way forward for ASEAN Community-building, the strengthening of ASEAN partnerships with external partners and the international community, and the reinforcing of the ASEAN-centred regional architecture. We underscored the importance of implementing effectively the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and its various Blueprints, as well as ASEAN agreements in force in order to maintain strong momentum in building a people-centred ASEAN Community that leaves no one behind, and looks to the future. As the Asia-Pacific continues to witness continued change and uncertainty, we believed that ASEAN needs to not only maintain its unity and centrality but also enhance ASEAN’s strategic value added, in order to remain a driving force for key developments in our region.

3. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, security and stability in the region, as well as to the peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the threat or use of force, in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

4. In view of ASEAN’s interdependence with the international community and the fact that over 70 percent of ASEAN’s trade is with the rest of the world, we agreed to further enhance ASEAN’s external relations, including the newly established ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership, and agreed in principle to upgrade ASEAN-EU relations to a Strategic Partnership, subject to further details and timing to be worked out. We also stressed the need to reinforce further the ASEAN-centred regional architecture so that it would be able to more effectively respond to challenges to regional peace and stability.

5. We looked forward to the ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK) Commemorative Summit to commemorate 30 years of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations and tasked our officials to begin working on the preparations for this event, including substantive outcomes to further enhance this Strategic Partnership.

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