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posted on Aug 2, 2007

Negroponte lauds ASEAN's Role in Promoting Democracy in Southeast Asia

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte cited on Wednesday the critical role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in promoting democracy in the region, lauding its decision to include a human rights provision in the group’s proposed Charter.

"Our common interest is not just economic. One area where ASEAN is playing a stronger role is in support of democracy," Negroponte said in his opening statement at the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference in conjunction with the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Manila. Negroponte also headed the US delegation to the one-day 14th ASEAN Regional Forum, which was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

Sec. Negroponte was the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines from 1993 through 1996.

Sec. Negroponte also said the US was elated by the recommendations of the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group (EPG) that helped draft the proposed charter because they "strengthened democratic values, good governance, the rule of law and respect of human rights and freedom." "We commend these objectives and encourage your efforts in these areas," Negroponte said. Negroponte said the US recognizes the significance of the statements of ASEAN leaders "on the shared vision to achieve peace, stability, democracy and prosperity in the region." Negroponte, the second highest official in the US Department of State, also cited the surging economic ties between the United States and ASEAN which reached US$168 billion in 2006.
	US Deputy Secretary John Negroponte meets with Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo (right).

ASEAN's combined gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded the US$1 trillion mark for the first time in 2006, he said, adding that with this accomplishment: "we continue to be strong economic partners."

The ASEAN countries represent the fourth largest export market of the United States "and as a group is one of the most rapidly growing and dynamic economies in the world," Negroponte said.

American private sector has pumped in close to US$90 billion in direct investments to ASEAN countries.

Negroponte also said the US and ASEAN "will review the progress on enhanced partnership announced by President Bush and ASEAN leaders in November 2005."

Also up for discussion, Negroponte said, is the Plan of Action that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the ASEAN foreign ministers signed in Kuala Lumpur last year "towards a road for implementing the enhanced partnership."

The Plan of Action includes economic cooperation, health, scholarship, information and communication technology, transport, energy, disaster management and environmental management.

Negroponte said that since the first ASEAN-US dialogue in Manila in 1977, the world has changed in many ways.

"Today we face challenges unforeseen in those years, but we also look to a future of even greater opportunities. The US considers its relations with ASEAN as a critical component of its dealings with East Asia as a whole. We want to deepen our partnership with you, individually or collectively, to help build a better future that people expect and deserve," Negroponte concluded.