The Myanmar delegation led by Dr Wah Wah Maung, Eminent Person (EP) of Myanmar and Deputy Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of the Republic of the Union Myanmar, attended the 14th Meeting of High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision (HLTF-ACV) which was held in Pattaya, Thailand, on 27-30 April 2024, accompanied by Deputy Director-General U Mang Hau Thang and an official from the Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
High-Level Representative drafting session of the 14th Meeting of the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision (HLTF-ACV) was held prior to the 14th Meeting of HLTF-ACV.
The Meeting was co-chaired by Mr Chatoulong Bouasisavath, Eminent Person (EP) of Lao PDR as the ASEAN Chair, and Mr Dato’ Zainuddin Yahya, Eminent Person (EP) of Malaysia and Former Malaysian Ambassador, as the permanent shepherd Member State. It was attended by Eminent Persons, High-Level Representatives, officials from ASEAN Member States, Timor Leste as an Observer, and officials from the ASEAN Secretariat.
At the Meeting, the Deputy Minister expressed appreciation to the Co-Chairs and the host for organizing the important Meeting. She commended high-level representatives for their efforts in completing the first reading of the APSC Strategic Plan of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. She looked forward to its narrative format for further negotiations. On Strengthening ASEAN’s Capacity and Institutional Effectiveness, the Deputy Minister highlighted the need to strengthen not only the ASEAN Secretariat but also the respective national secretariat so as to bridge the gap between human resources and resource mobilization. She stressed the need for both top-down guidance and bottom-up initiatives on the development of the respective strategic plans and suggested considering the placement of the cross-cutting action lines in consultation with the Co-Chairs of High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI), Senior Officials Committee for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (SOCA) and ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC).
The Meeting noted the progress made in the Implementation of the HLTF-ACV’s Recommendations on Strengthening ASEAN’s Capacity and Institutional Effectiveness and tasked the ASEAN Secretariat to work on the list of proposed action lines in line with the recommendations which are yet to be implemented. The Meeting also tasked the ASEAN Secretariat to convert the matrix format of the APSC Strategic Plan to a narrative format, and it was agreed that the placement of the elements of institutional strengthening-related strategic measures should be decided at a later stage. The Meeting adopted the Summary Decisions and Summary Reports of the 13th HLTF-ACV.
At the sideline of the Meeting, HLTF-ACV had an Interface meeting with the Chair of the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI), Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Development of ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan and Chair of the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC) and the respective pillars have updated their progress in developing their respective ASEAN Vision 2045 strategic action plans and recommendations. The Meeting exchanged views on the development of the respective strategic plans, placement of the elements of Institutional Strengthening-related Strategic Measures and cross-cutting issues in a friendly, cordial and candid manner.
HLTF-ACV was established in 2022 to develop the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and attendant document(s) in close consultation with the three ASEAN Community Pillars and ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee in accordance with the Ha Noi Declaration on the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision and the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community’s Post- 2025 Vision. — MNA
