Ambassador Buensuceso (eight from left) encourages EAS Ambassadors in Jakarta to strengthen their engagement to implement EAS Leaders’ initiatives.

Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN, chaired the meeting of the East Asia Summit (EAS) Ambassadors in Indonesia on 12 April 2017 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

Ambassador Buensuceso, who also chairs the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), emphasized that in accordance with the mandate given to the group by the EAS Leaders, the EAS Ambassadors in Jakarta have the responsibility to further strengthen their engagement and make it an important platform to monitor and even implement key EAS Leaders’ initiatives.

She also stressed that the mechanism is at the nascent stage of evolving this responsibility and as Chair, the Philippines commits to do its utmost in fulfilling the mandate entrusted to the mechanism by the EAS Leaders.

The meeting discussed preparations for the 7^th EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 12^th East Asia Summit, which will be held in August and November 2017, respectively, in the Philippines, including proposed outcome documents and initiatives of EAS member countries.

The meeting also endorsed the proposal of the Philippines and the ASEAN Secretariat for an EAS Ambassadors-led Mangrove Planting Day in mid-July in Jakarta as a commemorative activity to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of ASEAN this year.

The mechanism, which usually meets at least three times a year,  gathers together the Ambassadors to ASEAN of all 10 ASEAN Member States, Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.

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