PRESS RELEASE
20th ASEAN SUMMIT, PHNOM PENH
Y.A.B. DATO’SRI MOHD NAJIB TUN ABDUL RAZAK,
PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA, 02 – 04 APRIL 2012
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, was in Phnom Penh from 02 to 04 April 2012 to lead the Malaysian delegation to the 20th ASEAN Summit, a two-day event, themed "Asean: One Community, One Destiny". The Summit took place at the Peace Palace, Phnom Penh. The Malaysian delegation comprised of Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dato’ Sri Mustapa bin Mohamed and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture, Datuk Dennis Maglin D'Cruz. Also present were senior officers from Wisma Putra and other ministries including the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Abdul Rahman, Secretary General of the Ministry of International Trade & Industry, Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria and senior officials from Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of International Trade & Industry, Ministry of Information, Communication & Culture, as well as representatives from Economic Planning Unit, Ministry of Youth & Sports and Ministry of Women, Family & Community Development.
During the Summit, Dato' Sri Mohd Najib attended a plenary session, meeting representatives of Asean inter-parliamentary assembly and civil society organisations, and the sixth Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle summit, followed by the eighth Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area session. He also attended a Royal Audience with the King of the Kingdom of Cambodia, followed by a Royal Banquet. On the last day, Dato' Sri Mohd Najib attended the ninth Axiata Asean Leadership Forum co-hosted by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) and the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce.
Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor also accompanied Dato' Sri Mohd Najib to the Summit and attended separate programmes which were organised by Cambodia for the spouses. Lok Chumteav Bun Rany Hun Sen, wife of the Prime Minister of Cambodia hosted the ASEAN Leader’s spouse programme. Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor visited the Silver Pagoda at the Royal Palace and Royal University of Fine Arts. She also accompanied Dato' Sri Mohd Najib to the Opening Ceremony of the 20th ASEAN Summit, Royal Audience, Royal Banquet as well as attending the ASLI Dinner.
During his stay in Phnom Penh, Dato' Sri Mohd Najib also found time to attend a luncheon reception at Rumah Malaysia, Embassy of Malaysia, Phnom Penh hosted by Datuk Pengiran Hj. Hussein bin Datuk Pengiran Hj Mohd Tahir Nasruddin, the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom of Cambodia. The event was also attended by all Malaysian delegates and Cambodian accompanying officials.
The 20th ASEAN Summit was also special to the Prime Minister as he celebrated the third anniversary of his premiership with the Malaysian delegation. In his remarks, Dato' Sri Mohd Najib has described his three years in office as an exciting and challenging time and paid tribute to his Cabinet colleagues who have been very supportive of him. He added that the country had come a long way over the past three years and the challenge for him now would be to continue with the momentum after a string of positive and encouraging achievements.
This edition of summit was also a sweet success to Malaysia as at the end of the summit, ASEAN leaders endorsed a concept paper on the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) among the main outcome documents. This concept was mooted by Dato' Sri Mohd Najib when he delivered his maiden speech at the 65th United Nations General Assembly in 2010, which stressed on the need to rid of extremism in all forms and for the majority voice of moderation to take centre stage. The paper was presented by ASEAN secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan during a plenary session.
Among the regional and international issues discussed during the summit were situation in Myanmar, the North Korean nuclear issue, South China Sea disputes, global financial crisis, increasing the younger generation's interest in Asean and also emphasizing the importance of peace and stability for ASEAN to prosper together. The Summit also adopted four documents namely:-
(i) Phnom Penh Agenda on ASEAN Community Building;
(ii) Phnom Penh Declaration on ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny;
(iii) Declaration on Drug-Free ASEAN 2015; and
(iv) Global Movement of Moderates
Embassy of Malaysia, Phnom Penh
April 2012