RIYADH — Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin Tago joined other ambassadors and heads of missions of ASEAN Embassies in Riyadh in a meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Abdul Latif Al-Zayani here. There are eight ASEAN embassies representing Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia and Laos do not have resident embassies. Al-Zayani welcomed the ambassadors who extended their full commitment to enhance relations between the GCC and ASEAN. Al-Zayani said the GCC valued ASEAN as a partner and wants to further enhance relations with the economically vibrant region. The ambassadors cited the personal efforts of the GCC chief in enhancing peace and stability in the Gulf region, especially his efforts in the GCC Transitional Agreement for Yemen. The ASEAN ambassadors and the GCC Secretariat reviewed recent positive developments in ASEAN-GCC cooperation, as well as results of the GCC Foreign Ministers' meeting, which provides an important platform for such cooperation. The two sides signed an MOU and agreed on a 2-year Plan of Action, which identifies activities and measures for closer cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, economic and developmental cooperation, education and training, culture and information, and mutual consultation in international matters. The agreement has been extended for another year. During the meeting, both sides agreed to look into promoting mutual understanding of each other through think tanks and universities in their respective regions. They also discussed the proposed ASEAN Foundation as a vehicle to foster greater ASEAN-GCC cooperation at the non-governmental level. The first formal contact between ASEAN and the GCC took place in 1990 when the Foreign Minister of Oman, in his capacity as Chairman of the Council of GCC Ministers, expressed the desire of the GCC to establish formal relations with ASEAN. The first formal meeting of foreign ministers of ASEAN and GCC was at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 1990. In 2000, ASEAN established the ASEAN Riyadh Committee to help develop ASEAN–GCC relations. The ARC comprises heads of missions of ASEAN member-states in the Saudi capital. Since 2000, the ASEAN Riyadh Committee has been active in promoting relations between ASEAN and the GCC. Besides meeting annually at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Foreign Ministers of the ASEAN and the GCC have established a mechanism for regular ministerial meetings. The Philippines has resident embassies in all GCC countries (Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia). The Philippines also does not require visas from GCC citizens visiting the Philippines for less than 21 days.
