ASEAN Eyes People-Centred Community, Emphasises Moderation

By MUIN ABDUL MAJID LANGKAWI, (Kedah, Malaysia) April 28 (Bernama) -- ASEAN leaders concluded their annual summit in Malaysia by declaring their intention to boost efforts towards a people-oriented, people-centred and rules-based ASEAN Community while promoting moderation as the grouping's value. They were also on the same page on the need to forge a more resilient future by reducing existing disaster and climate-related risks. These were contained in the 'Kuala Lumpur Declaration on a People-Oriented, People-Centred ASEAN', 'Langkawi Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates', and the 'Declaration on Institutionalising the Resilience of ASEAN and its Communities and People to Disasters and Climate Change' adopted at the end of the 26th ASEAN Summit here Monday night. Presided over by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the two-day summit of the 10-member Southeast Asian nations was held in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and the island of Langkawi in northern Peninsular Malaysia. In the 'Kuala Lumpur Declaration on a People-Oriented, People-Centred ASEAN', the leaders, among others, vowed to enhance people-to-people contacts and awareness of ASEAN identity among young people by increasing youth interaction and exchanges within ASEAN. They also wanted sustainable cities in ASEAN with emphasis on robust economic activities, a safe and healthy living environment and eco-friendly and sustainable urban infrastructure. The ASEAN leaders agreed to alleviate poverty and narrow the development gap by increasing access to basic needs and achieving adequate standards of living in line with the global commitment on poverty eradication. They were of the same mind on the need to further promote and strengthen peace-oriented values and reconciliation in ASEAN through inclusive engagement with all relevant stakeholders. In addition, the summit called for the development of small and medium enterprises as a driving force for the planned ASEAN Economic Community. This would be achieved by providing a conducive environment for business activities, access to formal financial system and continued promotion of public-private sector partnership. The leaders further aspired to realise the vision of a competitive and sustainable food, agriculture and forestry sector integrated with the global economy, based on a single market and production base contributing to food and nutritional security in the ASEAN Community. In the 'Langkawi Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates', regional leaders sought to promote moderation as an ASEAN value that would help promote peace, security and development. They intended to continue building on initiatives to share best practices on counter-radicalisation and tackle the roots of extremism. The summit called for the promotion of education as an effective means of instilling respect for life, for diversity and the values of moderation, tolerance, non-violence and mutual understanding towards preventing the spread of violent extremism and addressing its root causes. ASEAN leaders also agreed to promote the observance of a 'Year of Moderation' at the United Nations to underscore the importance of moderation. Meanwhile, the 'Declaration on Institutionalising the Resilience of ASEAN and its Communities and People to Disasters and Climate Change' underscored the necessity of developing an ASEAN work programme for resilience building in the context of disaster risk management, climate change adaptation and sustainable development. ASEAN leaders sought to accelerate investments in disaster risk prevention and reduction and climate change adaptation through cohesive and integrated structural and non-structural measures. They felt that these integrated interventions were more cost-effective than traditional reliance on post-disaster response and recovery. They concurred on the need to allocate resources to strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response and effectively support resilient recovery and rehabilitation. The summit designated the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management as the focal point for cross-sectoral cooperation on resilience building at regional level with the support of other relevant sectoral bodies. -- BERNAMA