The Lenten season gave our nation and the world a valuable opportunity to reflect on God’s abiding message of hope, reconciliation and renewal for our countrymen and all of humanity.

As we give full life to our faith - through the lives we lead and the decisions we make - allow me to reaffirm the Department’s commitment to advance our nation and people’s interests in the world community, firmly grounded on the profound respect for humanity’s diversity and deep appreciation for our common brotherhood rooted in divine grace.

On my official visit to Ubud, Indonesia, I shall seek to further strengthen and broaden the ties that bind us with our brothers and sisters in the Southeast Asian region.

At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, I will have open and cordial talks with my counterparts on the future directions for the Association.

With Ubud, the region is one step closer to greater and historic integration.

United in our common pursuit of securing peace and achieving equitable and sustainable development, we have much at stake in moving forward the on-going discussions on the changing role and increasing importance of the organization for the stakeholders within the region, and beyond.

Among other issues, we will exchange views and widen discourse on regional integration, the creation of an ASEAN Charter, and the need to maintain ASEAN’s centrality and the continuing evolution of the regional and global geopolitical landscapes.

We are one step closer to the Charter -- a charter that builds strength of our diversity and reinforces our commonalities.

We shall also discuss strategies to efficiently and effectively implement the Vientiane Action Plan (VAP).  In our efforts to bridge the development gaps within the region, we realize the need to prioritize, maximize resources and coordinate national actions by ASEAN member-countries.

My counterparts and I will also meet with the members of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) to discuss developments on the creation of the ASEAN Charter.

The EPG plays a vital role in the formulation of a framework for the ASEAN Charter.  By engaging civil society through consultations and tapping track two diplomacy, the EPG ensures the widest participation of the region’s stakeholders.  The EPG also contributes to on-going discussions on the ASEAN Charter with their inputs, given their experience and expertise.

Former President Ramos - who represents the Philippines in the EPG - has been a key figure in the formulation of the framework for the ASEAN Charter.

In this light, my counterparts and I also welcome the opportunity to meet with the officers and members of the ASEAN Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).   We are keen on receiving ISIS’ concept paper on the charter which was drawn during the Institute’s recent brainstorming session also in Ubud.

ASEAN peoples all share a future and as we strive to address traditional concerns and respond to emergent issues, the discussion of these matters is vital as our region continues to chart ASEAN’s collective course for the mutual benefit of all our region’s peoples.

All these, of course, gain special national significance, in the context of our assumption of the year-long Chairmanship of the ASEAN Standing Committee in July this year.

We will keep you updated on developments related to this working visit.  I will also brief you upon my return.

Thank you. END