From left, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Zambry Abd Kadir, Philippines' Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Laos' Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Brunei's Foreign Minister Erywan Pehin Yusof, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea, East Timor's Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, hold hands for a group photo during the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Coordinating Council (ACC) meeting, ahead of the ASEAN Summit, at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 4, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
JAKARTA - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed an inter-Secretariat Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) here on Monday.
The MoU, which was signed on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, consists of agreements to strengthen inter-Secretariat concrete cooperation in the fields of maritime, connectivity, sustainable development, blue and green economy, digital economy, and disaster management.
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IORA and PIF are both inter-governmental organizations, which are aimed at strengthening cooperation within the regions of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific respectively.
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Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in the welcoming speech that ASEAN and countries in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean must work together to maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the regions.
It is thus necessary to uphold shared values and principles, namely the collaboration paradigm instead of competition, win-win mentality instead of zero-sum, and engagement approach instead of exclusion, said Marsudi.
