The 4th ASEAN-New Zealand Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting was held on 3 June 2016 at the ASEAN Secretariat. The Meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Rahmat Pramono, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to ASEAN, and H.E. Stephanie Lee, Ambassador of New Zealand to ASEA. Members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) and officials of the ASEAN Secretariat attended the Meeting.
The Meeting reaffirmed ASEAN and New Zealand’s commitment to further deepen cooperation as strategic partners and stock of the activities undertaken within the framework of the new ASEAN-New Zealand Plan of Action (2016-2020) in areas of mutual interest across the three ASEAN Community Pillars and in line with the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
The Meeting welcomed New Zealand’s increased contribution of over NZD 200 million in support of cooperation activities with ASEAN which include, inter-alia, practical capacity building support to ASEAN Member States such as the Young Business Leaders Initiative, scholarships programmes, the English Language Trainings for Officials and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training. Both sides agreed to expand cooperation on priority areas including defence and security, connectivity, counter terrorism, Small-and-Medium Enterprise development, education and human resource development, renewable energy, food security, agriculture, disaster risk management, environment and climate change.
This is the first JCC to be held since the elevation of the ASEAN and New Zealand partnership to a strategic level following the celebration the 40th Anniversary of dialogue relations in Kuala Lumpur last year.