22^nd ASEAN Plus Three Summit

          On 4 November 2019, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.), Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, chaired the 22nd ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit during the 35^th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits. The Meeting was attended by Leaders of ASEAN Member States, the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea as well as the Secretary-General of ASEAN.

          The Leaders noted the progress of APT cooperation and discussed the future direction of APT. On political-security cooperation, the Meeting acknowledged the significance of strengthening strategic trust in the region and fostering cooperation to counter terrorism. On economic cooperation, APT Members reiterated their support to maintain a rules-based multilateral trading system and learnt of the conclusion of the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In addition, they supported the initiative to connect the connectivities and the implementation of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM). The Meeting also discussed cooperation on MSMEs capacity building, digital economy and smart cities.

         On socio-cultural cooperation, the Meeting discussed cooperation on human capital development, people-to-people exchange, environmental protection, disaster management and the control of communicable diseases. In this regard, the Meeting encouraged strengthened cooperation with ASEAN through the newly-established ASEAN centres this year, particularly the ASEAN Centre on Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue. The Meeting also unveiled the ASEAN Plus Three website that will raise the APT public outreach and provide valuable information on the progress of the APT framework.  

         In addition, the Meeting exchanged views on regional developments, such as the situation in the Korean Peninsula, the upcoming ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the 1^st Mekong-ROK Summit later this month and the realization of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Meeting adopted the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders’ Statement on Connecting the Connectivities Initiative.

          ASEAN Plus Three was established in 1997. It has evolved into a forum for cooperation that has generated concrete benefits for the peoples of ASEAN, the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, as well as the region as a whole, in strategic areas such as connectivity, monetary and financial management, natural resources, and disaster prevention and mitigation. 

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