Informal Meeting among Secretaries General of ACC, AJC and AKC Held in Manila

On 22 January 2016, informal meeting among H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), H.E. Mr. Masataka Fujita, Secretary General of ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), and H.E. Mr. Kim Young-sun, Secretary General of ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC), was held in Manila, the Philippines. This was the sixth meeting among the three Centres.

The meeting was moderated by Secretary General Masataka Fujita. He said this was the first meeting among the current Secretaries General of the three Centres. In recent years, ASEAN Plus Three summit encouraged cooperation among the three Centres for several times. It was hoped that this meeting would serve as a new opportunity to further promote cooperation and exchanges among the Centres.

Secretary-General Yang Xiuping considered the meeting to be very meaningful in maintaining the momentum of cooperation among the three Centres. Last year the Centres jointly participated in some activities and kept close contact. ACC would like to further strengthen exchanges with the other two Centres. The year 2016 would celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and the ASEAN-China Year of Educational Exchange. ACC expected to enhance cooperation with the other two Centres in various fields, especially in education and youth exchanges.

Secretary General Kim Young-sun introduced that AKC played a leading role in drafting action plan on the Recommendation in the East Asia Vision Group II Report (strengthening cooperation among the three Centres), with a view to promoting ASEAN Plus Three cooperation. AKC viewed that cooperation among the three Centres should be conducted step by step and focus on implementable projects.

The meeting reviewed the progress of cooperation among the Centres since their last meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in January 2015, and exchanged views on how to implement the spirit of the 18th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, conduct joint programmes, and establish greater synergies with other international organizations. The Centres agreed that the next meeting should be held in Tokyo, Japan.