Thank you Mr Chairman for your introduction and for all the excellent arrangements you have made for this meeting. I must admit that when I walked in today I thought we would all be given telescopes to see each other across this large room. After the intimacy of yesterday's ARF meeting, today I find it difficult to see my colleagues in the same room, Perhaps we will need to communicate by carrier pigeons!

This is the first Post-Ministerial Conference to follow the landmark Bangkok Summit of last December. That Summit took a number of significant decisions not only with regard to membership and observership of ASEAN, but also affecting the role of this PMC. I wish to welcome to the PMC friends we know well already from the ARF - Russia and China - as well as India as fellow dialogue partners. The PMC is currently undergoing something of a test as a result of the expanded participation of dialogue partners. Ensuring the continuing relevance and utility of the PMC will be a test of ASEAN's management skills. We know well, and have seen further evidence in the last couple of days. of the expanding role and activities of ARF. The important issue now is to ensure the continued relevance and dynamism of the PMC, I hope that we, and our officials, will now give careful thought to how we can best deal with issues in the PMC and in bilateral meetings between ASEAN and its dialogue partners. This is an area which is developing rapidly. We have proved the value of an intimate setting for the ARF. I would not wish to see that intimacy diminished. In the Asia-Pacific region as a whole it will be important to ensure that our institutions, such as the ARF, PMC and ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, are as relevant and dynamic as the region itself.

We have an interesting agenda before us today. It covers problems from various parts of the world. With regard to the Middle East peace process, I would like to congratulate Secretary Christopher for the extraordinary patience and diligence he has shown in pursuing peace in that region. Looking elsewhere, we face a real challenge at the forthcoming WTO conference in Singapore. This organisation has an important role to play within the region, A further challenge - not a new one, rather a renewed challenge - arises in the development of the Mekong delta. This area provides an opportunity for the PMC further to prove its worth and relevance.

I would like to conclude by echoing the remarks of my colleague from the ROK. I too look forward to the PMC continuing to play a role as in invaluable vehicle for deepening mutual understanding and cooperation among the countries involved. We all need to persevere towards this goal.