Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	THE PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL 
			CONVENTION, CENTRE MANILA 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	15/12/87 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE THIRD 
			MEETING OF THE ASEAN HEADS 
			OF GOVERNMENT 




 Madam Chairperson;
Your Majesty and Your Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
    With  the blessing of the Almighty, we have come to the
conclusion  of  this  Third   Meeting  of  ASEAN   Heads  of
Government.  The Meeting has been a significant event.
2.   All  of us, the ASEAN Heads of Government, have come to
Manila with great confidence for this Meeting  despite  dire
predictions by all and sundry.  I congratulate our hosts for
making the excellent arrangements in all aspects to make the
Meeting  possible.   My delegation and I have had a pleasant
and comfortable sojourn in this colourful and  vibrant  city
of Manila.
3.   The   atmosphere   surrounding  our  Meeting  has  been
characteristically  ASEAN  --  warm,  friendly  and sincere.
We had frank  discussions and  serious exchanges of views on
many issues.  We went over the reports and  deliberated over
the recommendations  of the Ministers. We agreed on a number
of   things in keeping with the spirit of consensus,  mutual
respect and understanding. We were particularly in accord on
one  major  aspect  of  ASEAN :  the  need  to enhance ASEAN
cooperation particularly in the economic areas.
4.   Our  deliberations  have covered a wide area.  This has
largely been necessitated by many recent developments in the
international arena which are  inextricably  linked  to  our
hopes  and  fears,  our  expectations  and our vision of the
future.  The  ASEAN  member  countries cannot be effectively
insulated from these  developments.    Nor  can  we  isolate
ourselves in the light of increasing interdependence.
5.   The political, economic and security interests  of  the
member  countries   are   diverse,   yet   intertwined.  The
increasing  strategic  and  economic importance of Southeast
Asia and  of  ASEAN in particular, as well as the continuing
turmoil in Indochina makes it more relevant for  the  region
to achieve  accelerated  development  and  progress  and  to
maintaindurable  peace  and  stability.   ASEAN's commitment
to  achieving  the  early  realization of ZOPFAN  should  be
translated into positive action, particularly  now  that the
superpowers themselves have come to a new and positive phase
in their relationship with one another.
Madam Chairperson,
6.   The focus of this Summit has most appropriately been on
ASEAN  economic  cooperation.  For  it  is  through economic
cooperation that we can hope to promote development in  this
region, thus bringing about  an  environment  of  peace  and
stability.  However,  we have our own realistic expectations
for   ASEAN  and of ASEAN.  When our countries ventured into
ASEAN  as  a  regional grouping designed to help the  member
states, we knew of its  potentials and possible limitations.
We  stood  ready  to  develop  those potentials in  1976  by
signing  the  Declaration  of ASEAN Concord.  We again stand
ready to further exploit those potentials. This we have duly
said in the Declaration which we just signed  today.    This
Manila Declaration  is testimony to the continued commitment
of the member states to ASEAN.
7.   The  Declaration  reaffirms  our  commitment   to   the
objective  of  ASEAN  and states openly what we want for the
future  of ASEAN. It  is  an  important milestone in ASEAN's
progress.  It is a synthesis of thoughts, ideas and visions;
a fair and  frank  assessment  of  ASEAN's achievements  and
shortcomings, and  a  guide for a realistic approach towards
ASEAN  cooperation.  The  signing of the four agreements and
memoranda  of  understanding  is  a significant indicator of
ASEAN's  seriousness  in  developing  on-going programmes in
economic cooperation.
8.   ASEAN's good standing in the international community is
beyond doubt.  To  the  international  community  ASEAN is a
reality,  to  us  in  the  region it is both a reality and a
state of  mind. The fact that we have developed a successful
dialogue  relationship  with the industrialized countries is
indeed a feather in ASEAN's cap. Later today,  we  meet  the
Prime  Minister  of Japan, leader  of  one  of  ASEAN's most
important Dialogue Partners. I am sure we will have  a  very
fruitful discussion with him.
Madam Chairperson,
9.   I  have  been  fully  satisfied  at the outcome of this
Meeting.  I am sure what we have  achieved  here  in  Manila
will  provide the motivation for increased cooperation among
the ASEAN countries in the various areas.    Such  increased
cooperation  should  be  accompanied   by  a   gradual   and
systematic improvement in the ASEAN machinery.
10.  I  wish  to   thank   and   congratulate   you,   Madam
Chairperson,  for  the efficient and elegant handling of the
proceedings of our meeting. You have shown us that the first
woman  President  in  ASEAN is a person of great calibre and
charm.  On behalf of the Malaysian delegation, I  also  wish
to extend our sincere appreciation to the Government and the
people  of  the  Philippines for the excellent arrangements,
warm reception and generous hospitality that make this Third
Meeting  of  ASEAN  Heads  of  Government  a  successful and
memorable one.
     Thank you.

 
 



 









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