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SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has responded to media queries on the statement from the organisers of the ASEAN Peoples' Forum/ASEAN Civil Society Conference that it was "shocked" to learn that Singapore had selected "substitutes from government-sponsored agencies" to the Informal Dialogue with ASEAN Leaders.
The ministry referred to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phuket in July, where it was agreed that each ASEAN member would choose its own civil society organisation (CSO) representative for the Informal Dialogue with ASEAN Leaders at the 15th ASEAN Summit.
The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council in Bangkok in August further agreed that the CSO representatives should be chosen from humanitarian and development sectors.
Thailand, as the ASEAN Chair, had conveyed these decisions in advance to the organisers of the ASEAN Peoples' Forum/ASEAN Civil Society Conference.
Singapore's MFA said Singapore's CSO representative, Mr T K Udairam, chairman of Mercy Relief, is no "substitute" but was chosen in accordance with these decisions.
The ministry also said it is surprised that the conference organisers now profess to be "shocked" as they cannot have been unaware of the basis on which he was chosen.
It added that Mercy Relief is an independent non-governmental charity which is well-known for delivering humanitarian assistance in the region and that it is not a "government-sponsored agency".
- CNA/sc/al
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