ASEAN Secretariat, 5 September 2008

The ASEAN Secretariat and the Province of Guangdong of the People’s Republic of China entered into an agreement today to cooperate and implement activities in areas of mutual interest.

The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by Mr Nicholas Tandi Dammen, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN and Mr Wan Qingliang, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. It was witnessed by Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN and Mr Wang Yang, Party Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Guangdong Committee.

Under the Memorandum, the ASEAN Secretariat and the Guangdong Province will explore and facilitate cooperation activities in various areas including agriculture, information and communications technology, trade and investment, tourism promotion, energy and environment, education, and public health. To implement these activities, both sides will undertake regular consultations to promote dialogue and information exchange.

“Opportunities abound for the ASEAN countries and the provinces of China to collaborate in various areas to expand ASEAN-China relations. Guangdong is the southern gateway of China and links between Guangdong and ASEAN have been growing. This Memorandum will not only promote people-to-people ties, it will also further promote the development of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area,” said Dr Surin.

Dr Surin stressed that ASEAN attaches great importance to its relations with China and welcomes cooperation in various fields and at different levels, including furthering the friendly exchanges between the Chinese Provincial Governments and ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat.

The ASEAN Secretariat had signed a similar Memorandum with Hubei Province of China on 11 May 2008 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The purpose was to explore cooperation possibilities with the Central and Western provinces of China which can offer opportunities to expand ASEAN-China relations.

Dr Surin has previously discussed the issue of promoting closer cooperation between the ASEAN countries and the Central and Western provinces of China, a new growth centre, with Mr Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, on many occasions. Both sides agreed that such a strategy of closer cooperation is an effective way forward in deepening and widening ASEAN-China relations.