ASEAN, US to set up Eminent Persons Group to enhance cooperation
Posted: 15 November 2009 1802 hrs

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SINGAPORE: US President Barack Obama has met all 10 ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Singapore.

Sunday's meeting was the first time a US president has shared the same room with all 10 leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The US-ASEAN Leaders' Meeting also followed a change in US policy which now sees the Americans engaging directly with Myanmar's leadership.

The meeting lasted one and a half hours. After the meeting, the leaders said in a joint statement that they had agreed to increase their collaboration and establish an ASEAN-US Eminent Persons Group.

The move is to support enhanced ASEAN-US cooperation in addressing regional and global issues.

The statement also said Mr Obama stressed the US policy of enhancing engagement with ASEAN which it regards as a key partner in the promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

As for the ASEAN leaders, they welcomed the high-level dialogue and the US policy to engage with the government of Myanmar.

The ASEAN leaders stressed the importance of achieving national reconciliation and that the general elections to be held in Myanmar in 2010 must be conducted in a free, fair, inclusive and transparent manner in order to be credible to the international community.

The statement also said that the leaders welcomed the results of the 2009 APEC Leaders' Meeting.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating regional economic integration in the Asia Pacific by promoting greater convergence among APEC economies in key trade and investment policy areas.

They also reaffirmed the importance of bringing the Doha Round to a successful conclusion in 2010, and supported the G-20 statement in fighting protectionism.

The leaders welcomed the Philippines as the country coordinator for ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations from July 2009 to July 2012 and requested it to lead the drafting of the next five-year Plan of Action.

ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

- CNA/ir