Remarks of H.E. Rodolfo C. Severino,
Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
at the launching of the ASEAN Countdown Clock
ASEAN Garden, Manila, 28 November 1999
Dr. Luisa Ejercito Estrada, First Lady of the Philippines, Secretary Araneta, Mrs. Siazon, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen:
We are here to launch ASEAN's countdown clock in Manila marking, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, the approach of the new millennium. I thank the First Lady for honoring this occasion and presiding over it. I thank Mrs. Siazon, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Araneta and the Department of Tourism, the Intramuros Administration, P.T.Pesona Laras Mediatama, and all those others who made this event possible. And I thank all of you for sharing it with us.
There is no better place to launch this clock in the Philippines than the ASEAN Garden. There is no better time to do so than today, just as the leaders of ASEAN are meeting in this city, for the last time in this millenium, thirty-three days before the turn of the century, before the turn of the millennium.2000 is, in a sense, just another year. But, like significant anniversaries in a person's life, like certain birthdays, a jubilee, a golden wedding anniversary, it is a benchmark for one's progress in life, an occasion to take stock of the past. More importantly, it is a time for re-dedicating oneself to one's fundamental goals in life, for the renewal of one's core values, for invigorating one's determination to move ahead. It is in this spirit that we in ASEAN look forward to the year 2000, to the beginning of the twenty-first century and of the third millennium.
We in ASEAN look at the approach of this new chapter in mankind's history as an occasion to recall the purposes for which ASEAN was funded, to re-dedicate ourselves to those fundamental purposes, and to chart the course and direction of our association in this next phase in its life.
As we look back through the thirty-two years and more since ASEAN's creation, in 1967, we can see, with much satisfaction, that ASEAN has kept the peace among its members and brought stability to the region. We can see that ASEAN has made much progress in integrating its markets and its economies. ASEAN has achieved its founders' vision of all of Southeast Asia in one ASEAN family. ASEAN has become a significant force in the world. Not least, we can see that ASEAN's governments and ASEAN's peoples have acquired the habit of cooperating and working together and forming partnerships with one another in an ever-widening, range of human concerns for the benefit of all.
The approach of the new century and of the new millennium is a time to move more vigorously forward in building on these achievements.
Indeed, in December 1997, in Kuala Lumpur, our leaders looked beyond the turn of the century and the turn of the millennium and projected their vision of ASEAN for the first two decades of the new century, their ASEAN Vision 2020. At the height of the global financial crisis that had hit the region, ASEAN's leaders dared to proclaim a vision of optimism and hope. In the words of the ASEAN Vision 2020 Statement, "That vision is of ASEAN as a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development and in a community of caring societies."
Our leaders' optimism was not misplaced even in those difficult times. For what they-- what we-- have made of ASEAN and built upon ASEAN will enable us to face the new challenges of a new century, the challenges of a more competitive global economy, stronger, more stable, more cohesive, more united as a region and as an association.
As we approach the year 2000, there is much to hope for. In December 1998, in Hanoi, ASEAN's leaders decided on a set of concrete measures, embodied in the Hanoi Plan of Action, to bring the ASEAN Vision 2020 to reality. These measures are our guide and our agenda for the years straddling the turn of the century and of the millennium.
Today, at this very moment, our leaders are meeting again, deepening the integration of our economics, tightening our cohesion, strengthening our cooperation, broadening the areas of our interaction, and fortifying the capacity of our organization to do so. In this way, they are examining how ASEAN can be a more effective instrument for improving the lives of our people.
The ASEAN countdown clock will be a constant reminder for us to keep moving toward the achievement of our leaders' vision and the fundamental purposes of our association.
ASEAN Garden, Manila, 28 November 1999
Dr. Luisa Ejercito Estrada, First Lady of the Philippines, Secretary Araneta, Mrs. Siazon, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen:
We are here to launch ASEAN's countdown clock in Manila marking, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, the approach of the new millennium. I thank the First Lady for honoring this occasion and presiding over it. I thank Mrs. Siazon, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Araneta and the Department of Tourism, the Intramuros Administration, P.T.Pesona Laras Mediatama, and all those others who made this event possible. And I thank all of you for sharing it with us.
There is no better place to launch this clock in the Philippines than the ASEAN Garden. There is no better time to do so than today, just as the leaders of ASEAN are meeting in this city, for the last time in this millenium, thirty-three days before the turn of the century, before the turn of the millennium.2000 is, in a sense, just another year. But, like significant anniversaries in a person's life, like certain birthdays, a jubilee, a golden wedding anniversary, it is a benchmark for one's progress in life, an occasion to take stock of the past. More importantly, it is a time for re-dedicating oneself to one's fundamental goals in life, for the renewal of one's core values, for invigorating one's determination to move ahead. It is in this spirit that we in ASEAN look forward to the year 2000, to the beginning of the twenty-first century and of the third millennium.
We in ASEAN look at the approach of this new chapter in mankind's history as an occasion to recall the purposes for which ASEAN was funded, to re-dedicate ourselves to those fundamental purposes, and to chart the course and direction of our association in this next phase in its life.
As we look back through the thirty-two years and more since ASEAN's creation, in 1967, we can see, with much satisfaction, that ASEAN has kept the peace among its members and brought stability to the region. We can see that ASEAN has made much progress in integrating its markets and its economies. ASEAN has achieved its founders' vision of all of Southeast Asia in one ASEAN family. ASEAN has become a significant force in the world. Not least, we can see that ASEAN's governments and ASEAN's peoples have acquired the habit of cooperating and working together and forming partnerships with one another in an ever-widening, range of human concerns for the benefit of all.
The approach of the new century and of the new millennium is a time to move more vigorously forward in building on these achievements.
Indeed, in December 1997, in Kuala Lumpur, our leaders looked beyond the turn of the century and the turn of the millennium and projected their vision of ASEAN for the first two decades of the new century, their ASEAN Vision 2020. At the height of the global financial crisis that had hit the region, ASEAN's leaders dared to proclaim a vision of optimism and hope. In the words of the ASEAN Vision 2020 Statement, "That vision is of ASEAN as a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development and in a community of caring societies."
Our leaders' optimism was not misplaced even in those difficult times. For what they-- what we-- have made of ASEAN and built upon ASEAN will enable us to face the new challenges of a new century, the challenges of a more competitive global economy, stronger, more stable, more cohesive, more united as a region and as an association.
As we approach the year 2000, there is much to hope for. In December 1998, in Hanoi, ASEAN's leaders decided on a set of concrete measures, embodied in the Hanoi Plan of Action, to bring the ASEAN Vision 2020 to reality. These measures are our guide and our agenda for the years straddling the turn of the century and of the millennium.
Today, at this very moment, our leaders are meeting again, deepening the integration of our economics, tightening our cohesion, strengthening our cooperation, broadening the areas of our interaction, and fortifying the capacity of our organization to do so. In this way, they are examining how ASEAN can be a more effective instrument for improving the lives of our people.
The ASEAN countdown clock will be a constant reminder for us to keep moving toward the achievement of our leaders' vision and the fundamental purposes of our association.