at the Opening Ceremony of the
ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Creative Management for Government
26 May 2005, Seoul, Republic of Korea
His Excellency Oh Young-Kyo, Co-Chair of the Republic of Korea,
His Excellency Phankham Viphavanh, ASEAN Co-Chair,
His Excellency Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Council of Minsiters of Kingdom of Cambodia,
ASEAN Ministers in Charge of Civil Service and Government Administration,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. First of all, I would like to thank H.E. Oh Young-Kyo and the Organising Committee from the Republic of Korea for organising this ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Creative Management for Government. A lot of hard work and imagination go into this event. I congratulate all involved for making it happened.
2. It’s always a good initiative to start something new. What is more, this initiative is of vital importance for our respective countries’ development and progress. In today’s constantly changing world, governments must be creative, dynamic and innovative to keep up with the many new challenges and public expectations. If governments stay static or resist the changes, they will be disadvantaged and national advancement would be set back.
3. The financial crisis of 1997-1998 reinforced the reality among ASEAN and its Northeast Asian partners of their interdependence and the need to work more closely to ensure the peace, security, prosperity and development of the region. Since 1997, ASEAN Plus Three cooperation has evolved and expanded to cover various sectors, including political and security, economic and finance, and other functional areas of cooperation. The ASEAN and Plus Three countries have taken every effort to deepen their cooperation and this has borne fruit. Today’s meeting on Creative Management for Government is another concrete example of our multi-faceted cooperation.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
4. ASEAN is now focusing on ASEAN integration and ASEAN Community building efforts through three pillars: the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-cultural Community. Effective management and good governance in ASEAN would contribute to the speedy achievement of this goal.
5. The ASEAN Conference on Civil Service Matters is playing a key role in this endeavour. It deliberates on issues relating to ASEAN civil service reforms and has established ASEAN Resource Centres in Member Countries to conduct capacity-building training for civil servants, include enhancing workforce competencies; building institutional capacity; strengthening public sector leadership as well as exchange of visits of civil service officials among ASEAN Member Countries and between ASEAN and Dialogue Partners such as Australia, Canada, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
6. The ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Creative Management for Government would contribute to the strengthening of the capabilities of the public sectors in meeting the needs of our countries and the demands of our citizens. For us in the ASEAN Secretariat, we see the harnessing of technology and the promoting of creativity and innovation among our peoples as the most exciting value coming out of this new area of ASEAN Plus Three cooperation. In doing so, we should ensure that a more practical and flexible approach to cooperation is pursued through consultation and in a step-by-step manner.
7. There is a wise Korean saying, “well begun is half done.” If we do not lose sight of the big picture and the high potential from creative and innovative management of the public sector, we will secure many benefits from this initiative.
8. I wish the meeting every success.
Thank you.
