RESTRUCTURING OF THE ASEAN INSTITUTIONS
The Fourth Summit's decisions on the restructuring of ASEAN institutions were implemented during the period under review. This included the restructuring of the ASEAN machinery for economic cooperation and the establishment of SEOM. The other involved the establishment of SOM-PMC; and the third was on the strengthening and restructuring of the ASEAN Secretariat.
The New Mechanism for Economic Cooperation
The restructuring of the ASEAN machinery for economic cooperation involved the dissolution of the five economic committees with a view to entrusting all aspects of ASEAN economic cooperation to SEOM by I January 1993. Underlying this decision was the need to forge a greater degree of hierarchical coherence in the policies and programmes for economic cooperation and the need to foster a trans-sectoral orientation in the economic programmes of ASEAN. The move was also intended to provide impetus for achieving the goals of AFTA.
The 24th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting (AEM) held in Manila on 22-23 October 1992 approved the new mechanism for economic cooperation and handed over to SEOM the outstanding and future activities in the fields of trade and tourism; industry, minerals and energy; finance and banking; food and agriculture; and transport and communications. SEOM was institutionalized and was vested with the mandate to carry on the work of the AEM in between meetings.
The 24th AEM retained the subsidiary bodies as recommended by the Economic Committees for a provisional period of one year. During this period they shall be reporting to SEOM through the Secretary-General of ASEAN. The ASEAN Secretariat was requested to submit its recommendation to the 25th AEM on the continuation, reconstitution or dissolution of these subsidiary bodies.
Establishment of SOM-PMC
The establishment of the SOM-PMC was a further step in implementing the decision of the Fourth Summit to intensify ASEAN's external dialogues on political and security matters. In May 1993, Senior Officials from ASEAN and their counterparts from Dialogue Partner countries met for the first time in Singapore to engage in multilateral political and security consultations. The consultations covered a wide range of regional security matters of interest to ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners. The meeting agreed that the SOM-PMC should be held at least once a year. A work programme was adopted by the senior officials to guide future activities.
Strengthening of the ASEAN Secretariat
In January 1993, the restructured ASEAN Secretariat became operational, poised to carry out its enlarged set of functions as mandated by the Fourth Summit. Headed by the Secretary-General, the new team of ASEAN Secretariat professionals comprises one Deputy Secretary-General, four Directors, eleven Assistant Directors, and eight Senior Officers. The Secretariat had been expanded from three to four Bureaus - General Affairs, Economic Cooperation, Functional Cooperation and Economic Research - the last one being newly established to support the Secretariat's new role to provide advice on, initiate, and implement ASEAN activities.
His Excellency, Dato' Ajit Singh from Malaysia, assumed his post as head of the ASEAN Secretariat on I January 1993. He has been redesignated as Secretary- General of ASEAN, appointed on merit for a renewable five-year term, with ministerial status, and an enlarged mandate. Staffing of the Secretariat, which has moved from national nomination to open recruitment, was completed during the first quarter of 1993. A total of twenty-four professional staff have been recruited, almost twice the size of the previous professional staff complement of fourteen before the reorganization.
Within the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Cooperation Unit (ACU) has been organized to assist in programme/project development and in prioritizing project proposals competing for external and internal resources for funding support. The ACU would be initially composed of existing personnel under the supervision of the Deputy Secretary-General. Meanwhile, the ASEAN Secretariat has completed the development of project appraisal guidelines and standard project formats to guide ASEAN bodies, as well as the ACU, in their tasks of project development and review.
The year 1993 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the ASEAN Secretariat. The Protocol amending the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Secretariat signed at the 25th AMM in Manila provided the Secretariat with a new structure. The Protocol also vested it with an expanded set of functions and responsibilities to initiate, advise, coordinate and implement ASEAN activities. This expansion in the responsibilities of the Secretariat is intended to strengthen the institution so that it can effectively support the important initiatives promulgated by the Fourth Summit. The Secretary- General has been redesignated as the Secretary-General of ASEAN and appointed on merit for a renewable five-year term. New terms and conditions for attracting high-calibre professional staff through open recruitment were also provided. The new Protocol was a landmark document in the evolution of the ASEAN Secretariat.
Mission Statement and Work Programme
Early in the year, the ASEAN Secretariat adopted a Mission Statement which reflected the spirit of the Fourth Summit: "towards intensifying and strengthening intra- ASEAN cooperation". Guided by this Mission Statement and equipped with its new mandate, the Secretariat developed a work programme designed to provide responsive support to the tasks of the various ASEAN bodies. The Work Programme also contains a number of initiatives to translate into action the elements of the "Framework Agreement for Enhancing Economic Cooperation" signed by the Heads of Government in Singapore.
AFTA remains to be an important focus of the Work Programme. The finalization of the CEPT list, the harmonization of nomenclature of CEPT products, the compilation of ASEAN non-tariff barriers, and impact analyses of AFFA, are some of the more important activities which the Secretariat plans to undertake during the year. In June 1993, a symposium on AFFA was organized by the Secretariat to identify the critical path of major activities needed to ensure the successful and timely implementation of the CEPT.
In other sectors, the Work Programme has indicated some of the supportive and facilitative steps that would be needed to assist Member Countries in enhancing cooperation in various fields. The Eight-Point Initiative for Commodities endorsed by the Third ASEAN Summit will be monitored. The industrial cooperation agreements (e.g. AIJV, AIP, BBC) and their implementing rules will be reviewed in the light of AFTA and the structural changes in the ASEAN machinery. Regional mechanisms to facilitate the transfer of technology will continue to be looked into. In this regard, the Secretariat will actively participate in cooperation activities relating to intellectual property rights.
Enhanced participation and more substantive inputs will be provided to the various specialized working groups in finance, banking, and insurance. The same will be done for the various specialized groups in food and agri- culture. Initiatives will be taken in the formulation of responsive project proposals supportive of the programme of action in transportation and communications. Linkages with the private sector through the ASEAN-CCI will be strengthened and enhanced.
In the field of functional cooperation, the ASEAN Secretariat will take the initiative in formulating comprehensive action plans with well-defined objectives and programmes in the various sectors, more specifically, science and technology, environment, social development, culture and information, and drugs and narcotics. Effective and synergistic linkages between ASEAN institutions will be promoted.
Along this line, the ASEAN Secretariat will take steps towards the establishment of collaborative network with industrial research institutions with a view to developing endogenous technological capability in areas with potential for commercialization. Supportive action will also be taken towards the establishment of the ASEAN University. Special studies to assess the implications of AFFA on labor and employment will be initiated in collaboration with relevant research institutions.
Continuing research will be undertaken to generate more on-nation on political and regional security concerns. Steps have been initiated to develop a strategic information centre in the Secretariat to house relevant information on ASEAN which could be made available to the public and private sectors. Plans to develop, acquire and install specific databases are being carefully studied in the light of their substantial resource implications.
Attendance in ASEAN Meetings
The Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and the ASEAN Secretariat staff continued to participate in and provide technical support to ministerial meetings, annual dialogue meetings, various senior officials meetings, and working group meetings. To enhance its effectiveness in providing secretariat services to meetings, the systematic use of computers in rapporteurial work and in data storage has been put in place. The capability of the Secretariat has been enhanced with additional computers and increased use of the E-mail system.
As part of his enlarged mandate, the Secretary-General of ASEAN has been given the responsibility to chair, on behalf of the Chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee, all meetings of the Standing Committee except the first and the last. 'Me ASEAN Secretariat hosted two meetings of the ASC since July 1992.
With the restructuring of the mechanism for economic cooperation under SEOM, the ASEAN Secretariat has assumed a more central role since the subsidiary bodies under SEOM now report to the ASEAN Secretariat. The Secretariat staff participated actively in the meetings of the subsidiary bodies and in a number of working groups. Proposals and issues emanating from these meetings were elevated to the SEOM meetings. The ASEAN Secretariat hosted two meetings of SEOM and three meetings of its Interim Working Group.
The Secretary-General attended a number of overseas conferences and seminars, since he took office in January 1993. He visited Little Rock, Arkansas on 5-9 January 1993 at the invitation of the Mid-South International Trade Association, and following that, attended the Annual Secretaries of State Conference in Washington, D.C. These occasions provided the opportunity to meet with the US leadership and the business community to promote ASEAN.
In February 1993, the Secretary-General was speaker on the topic " The Role of Inter-governmental Organizations in Conflict Resolution' at the Second International Negotiation Network organized by the Carter Center. In the same event, he also served as panelist on the topic on Myanmar.
In March 1993, the Secretary-General led the ASEAN Senior Officials to New Delhi to establish ASEAN-India Sectoral Dialogue relations. The New Delhi Meeting discussed the form and substance of the cooperative relations between the two sides in the areas of trade, investment and tourism. The ASEAN Secretariat was tasked to proceed with the implementation of the various decisions, among others, to establish appropriate mechanisms to facilitate and intensify the sectoral dialogue relationships.
In April 1993, the Secretary-General delivered the keynote speech on the topic "Towards Increased Intra- ASEAN Trade" during the First ASEAN Forum organized by the ASEAN Institute in Singapore.
In June 1993, the Secretary-General was also invited to participate in the Asia Leaders Forum at Fort Douglas, Australia. Consistent with the theme of the Conference, the Secretary-General spoke on the topic of ASEAN's role in APEC.
Important Events
The year 1992 marked the 25th Anniversary of the founding of ASEAN. On this occasion, the ASEAN Secretariat took the initiative of coordinating the Member Countries on the release of taped messages from all ASEAN Heads of Governments on 9 August 1992. The ASEAN Secretariat also coordinated other commemorative activities to celebrate the event, with the full support of the ASEAN Embassies in Jakarta and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia.
In April 1993, the ASEAN Secretariat had the distinct privilege of being honored by the visit of the Prime Minister of Thailand, His Excellency, Mr. Chuan Leekpai. He was the first Head of Government to visit the ASEAN Secretariat. The Prime Minister was briefed on the new structure of the Secretariat, its activities, and the contributions of Thailand to ASEAN cooperation. The visit of the Prime Minister was preceded by the visit of the Foreign Minister of Thailand in February 1993.
