Executive Committee Meeting Approves PEMSEA Road Maps

 

Manila, Philippines — The PEMSEA Executive Committee has not only doubled in size, but more importantly in strength. Following the election of the three East Asian Seas Partnership Council Co-Chairs in July 2011, the expanded Executive Committee immediately proceeded to business and convened the 9th Executive Committee (EC) Meeting in Manila, Philippines last October 24 to 25, 2011.

 

The 9th EC Meeting focused on critical issues relating to the transformation of PEMSEA. In line with the directions provided by the 4th EAS Partnership Council Meeting, the 9th EC reviewed and recommended the adoption of the road maps for the following plans: PEMSEA Sustainable Financing Plan; the PEMSEA Resource Facility Re-Engineering Plan; the PEMSEA Advocacy and Communication Plan; and the PEMSEA Rules of Governance. The EC also approved as PEMSEA Certified Documents, the Port Safety, Health and Environmental Management (PSHEM) Code and the PSHEMS Development and Implementation Guideline, and the Guidebook for the State of the Coasts Reporting. Moreover, the EC has provided suggestions on the preparations for the East Asian Seas Congress 2012, including the proposed Ministerial Declaration.

 

The two-day meeting was very fruitful. The three new Co-Chairs contributed significantly to the discussions and further bolstered the EC by bringing in new perspectives.

 

The meeting was attended by the Council Chair, Dr. Chua Thia-Eng; the Technical Session Chair, Mr. Hiroshi Terashima; the Council Co-Chair, Ambassador Mary Seet-Cheng; the Intergovernmental Session Co-Chair, Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh; and the Technical Session Co-Chair, Prof. Chul-Hwan Koh. The Intergovernmental Session Chair Dr. Li Haiqing was unable to attend the meeting due to previous commitments. A representative from the Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF) of Japan participated as an observer, while the PRF served as the Secretariat for the meeting.

 

The EC, which meets during the intersessional period, ensures the implementation of the Partnership Council decisions as well as provides advice and guidance to the Council and the PEMSEA Resource Facility.

 

Documents referenced during the meeting are available in the Meeting Documents Section of the PEMSEA website.