WORKING GROUP ON SOCIAL, EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, CULTURAL, ENVIRONMENTAL & MEDIA (SESCEM) ISSUES,

27-29 NOVEMBER 2005, PAN PACIFIC HOTEL, SINGAPORE

CO-CHAIRS' STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

1                 The Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED) Working Group (WG) on Social, Educational, Scientific, Cultural, Environmental and Media (SESCEM) Issues held its inaugural meeting in Singapore from 27-29 November 2005.  The list of participants is at Annex A.  The meeting approved the Agenda of the meeting at Annex B.

2                  Recognising the need for the AMED process, the meeting acknowledged the convergence of interests and noted that there were many collaborative projects which AMED member countries could embark on at both the bilateral and multilateral levels.  The meeting affirmed the importance of the SESCEM WG in fostering closer government-to-government cooperation and people-to-people interaction in the social, educational, scientific, cultural, environmental and media spheres of  both regions. 

ROLE AND STRUCTURE OF SESCEM WG

3                 The meeting agreed that the SESCEM WG would operate under the framework of the Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED) Framework Document.  The meeting also took note of the Role and Structure of the SESCEM WG as outlined by the co-Chairs and detailed in Annex C. 

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND MEDIA

4                 The meeting welcomed the delegation of Singapore's proposal on the establishment of a Regional Institute for Public Administration to focus on the training of civil servants and develop skills and strategies for excellence in public service.   The meeting further welcomed the delegation of Qatar's offer to host the centre. 

5                 The meeting also welcomed the proposal to set up a Regional Vocational Training Centre in Amman to focus on vocational training. The meeting further welcomed the delegation of Jordan's offer to utilise the existing Specialised Training Institute for Metal Industries (STIMI), located in Amman, for the aforementioned centre, which was supported by the delegation of Japan.  The meeting took note of the offers by the delegations of Japan and Thailand to contribute to this initiative. 

6                 The meeting further took note of the suggestion by the delegation of the Republic of Korea to place existing bilateral cooperation schemes under the AMED umbrella, wherever deemed relevant.

7                 The meeting further welcomed the proposal by the delegation of Oman to establish a Regional Centre for Occupational Standards, with the objective of establishing occupational standards, identifying training needs, and strengthening the capabilities of the region's workforce.

PROMOTING COOPERATION IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH

8             The meeting welcomed the delegation of Bahrain's proposal to create research linkages between think-tanks in member countries on water resources management.  The meeting also took note of the useful sharing of experiences by the delegations of Bahrain, Kuwait, Singapore and Sri Lanka on water resources management, particularly in the fields of desalination. 

9             Acknowledging the need for closer scientific cooperation between member countries, the meeting further took note of the delegation of Indonesia's suggestions in this regard.  The meeting also recognised the role of the private sector in developing scientific research. The Kuwaiti delegation's proposal for more public-private partnerships in this sphere was also acknowledged.  The meeting concurred with the delegations from Kuwait and China on the role of infocommunication and information in promoting sustainable socio-economic development.

TRADITION AND MODERNITY

10            Recognising the importance of reconciling tradition and modernity to achieve peace and development, the meeting discussed various modalities for interfaith and intercivilisational dialogues following presentations by the delegations of China, Turkey and India.  In this regard, the meeting took note of the delegation of Indonesia's offer to utilise the Jogja International Centre for Religious and Cultural Cooperation as the venue for interfaiths and intercivilisational dialogues. 

11            The delegation of Jordan highlighted the Amman message, which shows the true essence of Islam as a moderate, inclusive and tolerant faith.  The meeting noted the delegation of Singapore's presentation on Singapore's experience in harmonising tradition and modernity in a multi-cultural and multi-religious context.  The meeting also agreed with the Singapore delegation's observation on the usefulness of study visits and round-table discussions to promote greater interfaith and intercultural understanding. 

FORMATION OF SUB-GROUPS 

12                The meeting expressed its appreciation to the delegation of the United Arab Emirates for its recommendations on expanding the Scope of Mutual Cooperation between the Middle East and Asia.  

13                In this regard, the meeting agreed with the proposal by the delegations of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to form sub-groups to take forward the conclusions reached at the WG meeting.  The meeting agreed that four open-ended sub-groups should be established to lead intersessional activities with co-leaders from each region for the following issue clusters:

1.  Education and Scientific Research (United Arab Emirates and  a co-leader from   Asia)

2. Media and Culture (Thailand and Sudan)

3. Human Resource Development (Singapore and a co-leader from the Middle East); and

4. Water Resources Management (Saudi Arabia and a co- leader from Asia).

14                The meeting agreed that interested delegations could consult with their respective authorities to decide on participation in each of these sub-groups.

AMED SESCEM WG'S REPORT TO STEERING COMMITEE

15            The meeting thanked the delegations of Jordan and Singapore for convening the inaugural meeting and expressed appreciation for Singapore's arrangements for the meeting.  It was agreed that the co-Chairs would submit a report on the outcome and key decisions of the inaugural SESCEM WG meeting to the fourth meeting of the AMED Steering Committee (SC) in the form of this co-Chairs' statement. 

16            The meeting accepted with gratitude the delegation of Jordan's offer to host the second meeting of the SESCEM WG in Amman in the fourth quarter of 2006 and looked forward to meeting again next year after the other AMED Working Groups had been convened.  It was agreed that delegations could communicate directly with the co-Chairs of the SESCEM WG further proposals on the focus and agenda of the second meeting of the SESCEM WG.

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