PH commended for competent ASEAN body chairmanship
PH commended for competent ASEAN body chairmanship
Ambassador Gatan leads the ACO in engaging Mr. Ron Hoffmann, DFAIT Senior Advisor for Asia. Posing with them in the photo are Deputy High Commissioner Umardin Mutalib (Malaysia), Amb. Kyaw Tin (Myanmar), Amb. Dienne Hardianti Moehario (Indonesia), Amb. Le Sy Vuong Ha (Vietnam), High Commissioner Rakiah Haji Abdul Lamit (Brunei Darussalam) and Amb. Udomphol Ninnad (Thailand).
The Philippines received commendations from resident Heads of Missions representing ASEAN countries as it wound down its chairmanship of the ASEAN Committee in Ottawa (ACO).
Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan steered the 231st ACO meeting, the last under Philippine chairmanship, on 9 May 2012 at Tahanang Rizal, the Philippine ambassador’s official residence. On the agenda were commemorative programs for the 35th anniversary of ASEAN-Canada relations, Canadian high-level visits to ASEAN member states and ASEAN community-building activities in Ottawa. The ACO also took the time to discuss the suspension of Canadian sanctions on Myanmar and the Philippine position on Bajo de Masinloc.
The ACO acknowledged Indonesian efforts to promote ASEAN markets in Canada by way of a business mission from Saskatchewan to the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. Promising results from potential Saskatchewan-Philippines partnerships were seen insofar as trade in chicken, beef, tuna and grains are concerned.
The ACO also thanked the Philippines for organizing the first-ever ACO luncheon with members of parliament on 14 March 2012 with a view to deepening the dialogue between ASEAN and Canada.
Philippine chairmanship of the ACO culminated in a luncheon on the same day with Mr. Ron Hoffmann, newly-appointed DFAIT Senior Advisor for Asia. Lunch conversation focused on concrete manifestations of how the ASEAN region has emerged as a top geographic priority for Canada as well as bilateral and trilateral linkages that could strengthen ASEAN interconnectivity.
“Although our chairmanship officially ends 30 June 2012, the Philippines will continue to be an active builder of the ASEAN community in Ottawa and an ardent supporter of a forward-looking relationship between ASEAN and Canada,” Ambassador Gatan affirmed.
(PRESS RELEASE)
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