TNAG-1787-FCO40-2547-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1988 — Page 60

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The Foreign Ministers expressed their appreciation to the United Nations Secretary-General and his Special Representative, Mr. S.A.M.S. Kibria, for their role in helping to alleviate the plight of Indochinese refugees and displaced persons. They also commended the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for his on-going efforts

to resolve the problem.

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The Foreign Ministers reaffirmed that the ASEAN countries will

continue to deal with the refugee situation in accordance with the

humanitarian, social and cultural traditions of the ASEAN countries.

They stressed that the application of these principles will have also to

take into account the national security and other interests of the ASEAN

countries. They called for greater mobilization of efforts and

resources on the part of the international community to deal with the

problem on the basis of

of international burden-sharing. The Foreign

Ministers were of the view that thirteen years after the end of the

Vietnam War, the root causes of the refugee problem in South-East Asia

still have not been effectively dealt with and thus more innovative and

effective strategies will have Co be developed to deal with the

continuing refugee problem. In this regard, the Foreign Ministers

reiterated their call for the convening of an international conference

on Indochinese refugees under the auspices of the United Nations

Secretary-General.

THIRD ASEAN SUMMIT

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The Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction that the

successful outcome of the Third Meeting of the ASEAN Heads of Government

in Manila in December 1987 has provided new directions to incensify and

accelerate political, economic, sccial and cultural cooperation of

ASEAN. In this regard, the Foreign Ministers emphasized the importance

of the follow-up actions on the decisions of the ASEAN Heads of

Government to ensure their expeditious implementation. They noted the

progress made by the relevant ASEAN committees in the implementation of

the Programme of Action adopted by the ASEAN Heads of Government.

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