Minister George Yeo attended the 9th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Ministerial Meeting in Tehran, Iran on 8 November 2010. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered the opening address for the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and attended by the Deputy Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and senior officials of 31 Asian countries. The ACD was formed in 2002 to foster dialogue and greater Asian unity.
In his statement at the meeting, Minister Yeo said Asian countries have re-established their old links of earlier centuries with one another. Asia is a high point of civilisation. Asian countries should maintain the peace necessary to continue their growth and prosperity. He highlighted that improved connectivity would enhance the competitiveness of Asian economies and strengthen ACD cooperation in concrete ways.
Minister Yeo proposed that the ACD countries could consider the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan recently approved by the ASEAN Leaders at their Hanoi Summit. The Master Plan could be used to strengthen connectivity amongst ACD countries. In doing so, regional organisations in Asia such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and ASEAN can take the lead in coordinating the relevant initiatives. The respective secretariats of these organisations, which are already engaged in various connectivity projects, can work together with the UN Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (ESCAP) in this respect.
The ACD Ministerial Meeting was concluded on 9 November 2010. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in the State of Kuwait in 2011.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
9 NOVEMBER 2010