84 OUTCOME DOCUMENTS EXPECTED FROM 47TH ASEAN SUMMIT - MOHAMAD

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- A total of 84 outcome documents are expected to be issued at the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits to be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here from Oct 26 to 28.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said this reflected Malaysia’s commitment as ASEAN Chair this year in strengthening the regional community’s direction towards the ASEAN 2045 vision.

“Many new matters have been agreed upon. Alhamdulillah, Malaysia, as ASEAN Chair, appears to have produced very effective outcomes for the ASEAN Community to face and manage the ASEAN 2045 vision,” he told reporters after inspecting preparations for the summit today.

He said this year’s summit would also introduce a new approach, where foreign ministers and economic ministers would meet jointly for the first time to coordinate decisions and policies discussed.

“In the past, decisions made by the foreign ministers and those made by the economic ministers were not coordinated — they were siloed,” he said.

“So we want to align the decisions made by the economic ministers and ensure they are taken into account by the foreign ministers, who will then prepare all the working papers to be discussed at the leaders’ level,” he said.

Mohamad said, among other matters, the ASEAN Zero Emission Community Meeting with dialogue partners Australia and Japan would also be held during the summit to establish the region as a zero-emission community.

He said Malaysia, as Chair, would also determine the direction of the ASEAN–United States Trade Agreement and the enhancement of the ASEAN–China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 3.0, as China remained the bloc’s largest trading partner.

In addition, he said he would chair the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on Oct 24 and 25 to discuss various issues, including the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and Timor-Leste’s admission as an ASEAN member.

He also confirmed that all ASEAN leaders and dialogue partners would attend the 47th ASEAN Summit, although Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attendance had yet to be confirmed.

On summit preparations, Mohamad said everything was progressing according to schedule, with logistics and meeting arrangements carefully organised.

-- BERNAMA