Hanoi (VNA) – An ASEAN communique reaffirming the importance of narrowing the development gap in the regional connecting and ASEAN Community-building process was adopted at the group’s ministerial meeting in Singapore on July 21.

At the “One ASEAN at the Heart of Dynamic Asia” meeting, the foreign ministers agreed to further intensify integration efforts in all three pillars of the ASEAN community to establish a people-oriented, caring and sharing region by 2015.

“We affirmed our resolve to pursue more region-wide cooperation programmes and activities geared towards accelerating the ASEAN community-building process,” the communique said.

The ministers agreed to intensify cooperation to Narrow the Development Gap (NDG) to support ASEAN’s integration efforts, which is considered of paramount importance to community-building in the group.

This is expected to help ensure equitable economic development of the region and facilitate attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to contribute to the well-being of the people of ASEAN.

They emphasised the key role of the Inititative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) in NDG efforts and committed to delivering by December this year a final draft of the IAI World Plan 2009-2015.

The meeting highlighted ASEAN’s role in the ASEAN-led coordination mechanism in response to Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar .

The leaders also affirmed ASEAN will actively enhance regional and international cooperation to find out long-lasting and sustainable solutions on food security, energy and finance.

Reviewing the Plan of Action on the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) adopted at the last ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the ministers affirmed the need to persevere in strengthening cooperation to implement the Treaty.

“We instructed our officials to continue to engage the Nuclear Weapon States, to secure their accession the SEANWFZ Protocol as soon as possible,” the communique said.

The meeting reiterated the importance of maintaining ASEAN’s central role in regional processes.

Ministers said they were pleased with cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue partners and praised support of regional and non-regional dialogue countries in the effort to build an ASEAN community.

During a working dinner on July 20, ASEAN ministers discussed regional development.

They were briefed by Cambodian and Thai representatives on the situation relating to Preah Vihear temple. They agreed to issue a chair statement calling for both sides to exercise "maximum restraint", solve the issue through peaceful measures in line with the international law and in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity and good neighborliness.

The ministers also agreed that ASEAN is willing to help to solve the issue if Cambodia and Thailand require.

The ministers spotlighted their full commitment to realizing the vision set out in the ASEAN Charter that was signed by ASEAN Leaders on ASEAN’s 40th anniversary of last November.

“With our Statement on the ASEAN Charter issued on July 21 2008, we reaffirmed the commitment by all member of states to ratify the ASEAN Charter by the 14th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok , and pledged to undertake all measures necessary to ensure expeditious implementation of the Charter,” the ministers said in the communique.

The ministers endorsed the Terms of Reference of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and agreed that each ASEAN member state would appoint their Permanent Representative to ASEAN at ambassadorial level to be posted in Jakarta from January 1, 2009.

The ministers set up the High Level Panel on an ASEAN human rights body, and established the High Level Legal Experts’ Group on Follow Up to the ASEAN Charter. The two groups will begin working right after the AMM-41.-Enditem