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Remarks at the 20th ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit
Jeju, 2 June 2009
(Session 2: 10:00h – 11:00h)
Your Excellency President Lee Myung-bak,
Your Excellency Chairman,
Your Majesty the Sultan,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
The financial crisis in
the western countries poses negative effect and complication to our effort in
reducing poverty and improving economic growth. Last year, ASEAN and the
Republic of Korea (ROK) faced a difficult time due to the rising oil and food
prices. Despite the recent decline of oil and food prices, the financial
crisis, stemming from western countries, is becoming a major threat for our
nations.
In this context, a closer
cooperation is our top priority. Therefore, ASEAN’s relationship with the Plus
Three countries, especially with South Korea has increasingly become critical
not only to promote the process of ASEAN integration, but also for a joint
response to the global financial and economic crisis.
Taking this opportunity, I
would like to express my high appreciation for the outcome of the last ASEM Summit in Beijing, where the ASEAN+3 Countries agreed that the impact of the financial
crisis can be mitigated by speeding and strengthening the implementation of
Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) and now we have decided to increase the ASEAN+3
SWAPs size from USD80 billion to USD120 billion, as agreed recently by ASEAN+3
Finance Ministers' Meeting in Bali, Indonesia. In this regard, I would express
full support to the decision made by the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and would
like to speed up the implementation of the CMI swap arrangements as planned
because this self-help mechanism would well protect our region in the face of
the current global financial crisis and future possible financial shock.
At the same time, we recognize that the demand for energy will
increase together with the economic growth in the ASEAN+3 Countries. Therefore,
with the uncertainty of energy market as we witnessed in the last decade, the
bio-energy is truly important for development. However, with the recent rising
food price and its impact on the people, we have noted that the bio-energy
development has not produced a good result, because the land for food production
should not be used much for bio-energy. It requires us to strike an appropriate
balance in solving this problem. In this
connection, I would like to welcome and highly appreciate the ASEAN+3 Declaration on Food
Security and Bio-Energy Cooperation expected to be signed in the coming Summit in Thailand.
As an
agricultural country, Cambodia welcomes investment in infrastructure,
technological transfer and technical assistance in order to improve agricultural
productivity. To avoid future food shortage in the future, technology will play
crucial role as it leads to the improvement of agriculture productivity.
Cambodia is self-sufficient in rice with some remaining for export and contains
extensive land surface, which has not been used at the maximum potential yet.
Hence, together with the investment to improve agriculture productivity,
Cambodia may become another crucial rice barn for the region and the world.
However, the effect resulted from the
climate change such as global warming, flood, drought in some parts of the world
and unusual ice meltdown in the Poles and so forth still remains a major threat
to us all. In this connection, we should enhance our responsibility by
accelerating the implementation of all existing mechanisms to effectively and
timely tackle the climate change. Climate change is also considered as root
cause for food shortages due to flood and drought in some major food producing
countries.
To tackle the above issue, we need to
strike an appropriate balance between socio-economic development and
environmental protection. We have to sufficiently finance the R&D to improve the
efficiency of energy usage and development of clean energy. I would like to
encourage the transfer of technologies in the area of energy efficiency and
development of clean energy from developed to developing countries. In this
context, I strongly urge all signatory countries of the Singapore
Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment to increase
cooperation and transform this declaration into actual work plan and concrete
implementation.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to
express my utmost support on the Statement on EAS Disaster Management, which is soon to be adopted during the upcoming Summit in Thailand.
In the meantime, the
world and our whole region are facing another eruption of a dangerous illness, swine flu A(H1N1). It was originated in Mexico, and has caused sharp
concerns to the world as the flu has spread across many countries including the
Republic of Korea. This will put an extra pressure to further slow down
regional economic growth, in the circumstance that the world has been receiving
the negative effect from the global financial crisis and the world economic
recession. Based on the past experiences and success in fighting against SAR
decease, the combat against this swine flu requires a close regional cooperation
among countries in the region. In this context, I would like to highly
appreciate the collective
regional measures which were adopted by the ASEAN + 3 Health Ministers’ Special
Meeting in Bangkok on 8 May 2009.
Finally, I would like to thank and highly
appreciate the Republic of Korea for her strong commitment to further strengthen
economic, security and political cooperation with ASEAN in order to maintain the
regional peace, stability and prosperity.
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