On April 19, 2024, Mr. Bolbongse Vangphaen, Acting Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, participated in the 31st Dialogue ASEAN-New Zealand in Wellington, New Zealand. The meeting was co-chaired by New Zealand and Brunei Darussalam, the coordinating country for ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue relations. East Timor also attended as an observer.
The meeting discussed how to further strengthen cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN-New Zealand Strategic Partnership in various dimensions, focusing on the promotion of peace and security, trade and investment, people-to-people relations and environmental protection. atmosphere. In this regard, New Zealand proposed to convene the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations in 2025 in Malaysia, with the establishment of the ASEAN-New Zealand Global Strategic Partnership (CSP) as one of the key results.
Acting Director-General Vangphaen led the discussion on the green agenda, innovation and cooperation for sustainable development, calling for greater cooperation on renewable energy, smart agriculture, green finance and the development of carbon credit mechanisms in the region. He also encouraged New Zealand to deepen collaboration with relevant ASEAN centres, especially the ASEAN Center for Studies and Dialogue on Sustainable Development (ACSDSD) in Bangkok, and to initiate flagship green innovation cooperation projects, in which New Zealand has experience.
Philippines Highlights ASEAN-ROK Cooperation for SME Development
During the exchange of views on regional and international issues, Thailand briefed the Meeting on the ceremony of handing over humanitarian aid to the people of Myanmar as part of efforts to increase assistance to the affected population along the border between Thailand and Myanmar on March 25, 2024.
Thailand also expressed alarm over the escalation of conflicts in Myanmar and its support for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Statement on the Escalation of Conflicts in Myanmar, issued on April 18, 2024.
New Zealand proposed to convene the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations
The ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue is the annual meeting of senior officials to review and discuss ways to advance the ASEAN-New Zealand Strategic Partnership to achieve concrete results. New Zealand was the second country to establish Dialogue Relations with ASEAN, in 1975. The Dialogue Relations were later elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2015 on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations.
