The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pledges to continue expanding cooperation with the United Nations (UN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the fields of trade, investment, education and culture.

The grouping has made the commitment at the two separate meetings on the sidelines of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) held in New York , the United States .

At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting with the UN Secretary General and the President of the UNGA (AUMM), the first of its kind since the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between ASEAN and the UN at the 4th ASEAN-UN Summit in Bali last November, participants reviewed the implementation of the ASEAN-UN Comprehensive Partnership, based on the joint report by the Secretariats of ASEAN and the UN.

They also held discussions on the preparations and key issues for the forthcoming 5th ASEAN-UN Summit, scheduled to take place in Phnom Penh on November 20.

ASEAN ministers informed their partners that, as part of the international community, ASEAN is determined to contribute to, and be part of the solutions of current global challenges by working with the UN to promote the values of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM).

They also discussed various regional and international issues, particularly those of common concern of ASEAN and the UN that are on the agenda of the UNGA’s 67th session, including education, health, climate change, disaster management, conflict resolution, human rights, global financial crisis and sustainable development.


At the ASEAN-GCC ministerial meeting, the two sides agreed to boost the implementation of the ASEAN-GCC Two-Year Action Plan for 2010-12 term. Accordingly, they will hold four meetings to seek measures for closer cooperation.

They also acknowledged remarkable achievements of the action plan and agreed to extend the cooperation to 2013.

The two sides also reached a consensus that the next action plan will be built on the basis of the results of the 2010-2012 plan.-VNA