ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO PROMULGATE CHARTER IN JAKARTA

Jakarta, Dec 10 (ANTARA) - ASEAN is to hold a special foreign ministers' meeting at its secretariat in Jakarta on December 15 to formally put the association's brand-new charter into effect.
According to a press statement issued by the ASEAN Secretariat on Wednesday, the group's ten member countries had agreed to Thailand's proposal to formally promulgate the Asean Charter in Jakarta instead of in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as originally scheduled because of Thailand's political crisis.
Meanwhile, Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said the ASEAN Charter's promulgation would be an historic moment for the regional organization.
"December 15, 2008 will be an historic day because under the Asean Charter, the organization will be even more capable of facing the 21st century's challenges," Surin said.
At their December 15 meeting, the Asean foreign ministers would also discuss the schedule of the 14th Asean Summit because the Thai government announced last Tuesday that the summit which was originally to be held in Thailand in December 2008 was postponed to March 2009.
Indonesia had agreed to the Thai proposal to postpone the 14th Asean summit but insisted on promulgating the ASEAN Charter and discussing the Chiang Mai Initiative to maintain the momentum of Asean cooperation as scheduled.
Indonesian President Yudhoyono had therefore proposed that if the 14th Asean summit could not take place in Thailand as scheduled, the Asean foreign ministers should meet at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta to put the ASEAN charter into effect. He also said the Asean finance ministers should meet in Bali to discuss the Chiang Mai Initiative according to schedule.