The Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), which comprises Permanent Representatives of ambassadorial rank from all ten ASEAN Member States is based in Jakarta.
The CPR was established in 2009, following the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter. Over the last decade, the CPR has continued to discharge its roles and responsibilities covering many issues and multiple layers of the ASEAN structure, in line with the ASEAN Charter and its Terms of Reference. To promote ASEAN Community building, the CPR has played an important part in the formulation of various ASEAN guidelines and engaged actively with various stakeholders, both internal and external. Another important responsibility of the CPR is to work with the coordinating mechanisms of the three ASEAN Community pillars to deal with cross-pillar issues. In terms of ASEAN’s External Relations, the CPR has taken advantage of its presence in Jakarta by engaging with external partners, particularly with the Ambassadors of Dialogue Partners, Sectoral Dialogue Partners and Development Partners of ASEAN in Jakarta. The CPR is also responsible for negotiations of important outcome documents including joint statements and vision statements of the ASEAN Plus One, ASEAN Plus Three (APT) and the East Asia Summit (EAS). Significantly, the CPR is the main body that provides both substantive and administrative direction to support the work of the ASEAN Secretariat, which is housed in Jakarta.
At this important juncture of the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the CPR in 2019, the CPR will continue to advance its work that will inevitably increase and expand due to the ever-changing regional and global landscape. The CPR will continue its contributions towards the future of a people-oriented, people-centred ASEAN that leaves no one behind.
Ambassador Kasmalati Dato Kassim - Brunei Darussalam
“The work of ASEAN over the past half-century has helped enable truly remarkable progress for all countries in Southeast Asia, bringing benefits to their people. In the ten years since its creation, the CPR has grown into an integral part of ASEAN, overseeing cross-cutting matters such as ASEAN Connectivity as well as providing a point for engagement with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners and other external partners. Looking ahead, I believe that the role of the CPR will continue to evolve as an important mechanism to bridge the three pillars of ASEAN, as well as to strengthen relations with our external partners.”
Ambassador Yeap Samnang - Cambodia
“Against the backdrop of ASEAN’s successes, the CPR, established in 2009, is rather new or even an infant compared to the other existing and longentrenched organs. The CPR does not only support the improvement of coordination and coherence of all ASEAN Organs and liaise with the ASEAN Secretariat in ensuring the proper functioning of ASEAN, but also plays an important role in broadening and deepening its engagement with relevant stakeholders and external partners to advance ASEAN’s agenda of realising a people-oriented, people-centred Community.”
Ambassador Ade Padmo Sarwono - Indonesia
“As a Community, ASEAN plays a major and significant role in maintaing regional peace, security, stability, and prosperity. ASEAN has always been the cornerstone of Indonesian Foreign Policy and will always be at the top of Indonesia’s commitment. As ASEAN grows, so does the role of the CPR as a platform where cross-sectoral and cross-pillar issues are discussed and deliberated to achieve consensus. In the future, the CPR will double its efforts to strengthen and achieve tangible outcomes in realization of an ASEAN Community that is people-centered and people-oriented. Bolstered by the new ASEAN Secretariat building to be launched in Jakarta this year, we welcome new and exciting prospects to come.”
Ambassador Ekkaphab Phanthavong - Lao PDR
“The CPR has played a critical role in the efforts of narrowing the development gap in ASEAN, notably the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), which serves as the main platform in narrowing the development gap among the ASEAN Member States and achieving equitable economic development. The ten Permanent Representatives to ASEAN serve as members of the IAI Task Force, which provides policy guidance and directions in the development and implementation of the IAI Work Plan, designed to assist Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV) to meet ASEAN-wide targets towards narrowing the development gap among ASEAN Member States. Significant progress has been made in this endeavor thus far.”
Ambassador Dato’ Shariffah Norhana Syed Mustaffa - Malaysia
“The CPR has evolved and grown significantly since its establishment in 2009. It has contributed immensely to the strengthening of the ASEAN Community building efforts by supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Vision 2025 and the respective Blueprints, as well as enhancing external relations with Dialogue Partners through various important cooperation that will deliver real mutual benefits. The CPR will also continue to intensify its engagement with ASEAN sectoral bodies, institutions and various stakeholders through face-to-face interactions in meeting the wider and exigent mandates that it faces today. All this is carried out towards the full realization of the ASEAN Community and brighter future for the region.”
Ambassador Min Lwin - Myanmar
“The CPR, Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, was born with the ASEAN Charter in 2009. Throughout the past decade, the CPR has played a significant role in deepening ASEAN Community-building and enhancing ASEAN’s cooperation with external partners in all three pillars with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Thus, the CPR has consolidated itself as the “Jakarta Channel” or some jokingly mentioned as “Jakarta Mafia”. The CPR has also been entrusted as ACCC (ASEAN Connectivity Coordination Committee) to coordinate the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and as the IAI Task Force to narrow the development gap under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, among others. The CPR is tasked with more and more substantive roles and responsibilities including negotiating with non-ASEAN EAS Ambassadors on EAS Leaders’ statements. While CPR is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the establishment, the CPR will have to keep adapting and ready to meet present and emerging challenges in the years to come.”
Ambassador Noel Servigon - Philippines
“Since its establishment in 1967, ASEAN continues to contribute to the remarkable and transformational progress and development of the region, one that is peaceful, stable and outward-looking. Responding to the challenges of ASEAN community-building efforts and the new generation of global issues, the CPR remains at the forefront of ASEAN’s engagement with dialogue partners and other external parties. As ASEAN continues to be at the core of the evolving regional architecture, the CPR’s role also continues to evolve, including negotiating ASEAN outcome statements and declarations, managing cross-sectoral issues, and representing their countries in various ASEAN-led bodies and mechanisms. As ASEAN continues to grow as a model regionalism, the CPR also continues to respond to regional developments and ASEAN’s engagement with the world.”
Ambassador Kok Li Peng - Singapore
“As we embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), ASEAN has intensified efforts to promote digital trade and use of electronic payments, develop ICT infrastructure, and work towards more coherent e-commerce laws, among others. Complementary to these efforts is digital integration, which will realise the scale of ASEAN, facilitate ASEAN’s competitiveness in the global economy and bridge the digital divide to create a more integrated ASEAN. At same time, ASEAN’s cybersecurity capabilities must be strengthened to ensure a secure IT ecosystem. In the years to come, the CPR will play an important role in coordinating such cross-pillar and cross-sectoral efforts.”
Ambassador Phasporn Sangasubana - Thailand
“The fast evolving world poses both opportunities and challenges for ASEAN and our region. While ASEAN needs to be relevant to the people and more future-oriented, it is also imperative to ensure that we achieve sustainability in all dimensions, be it in terms of sustainable security, sustainable economic growth that is green and inclusive, sustainable development, and sustainable human security. It is therefore imperative for the CPR in Jakarta to continue to join hands in further enhancing meaningful partnerships with all relevant stakeholders to promote sustainable peace, stability and prosperity for the benefits of the peoples and leave no one behind.”
Ambassador Tran Duc Binh - Vietnam
“Since 2009, the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) has played a key role in the ASEAN Community building process, fulfilling its mandate in coordinating cross-pillar issues and ensuring the effective implementation of ASEAN Leaders’ decisions. At the same time, the CPR has served as an important channel for dialogue and cooperation between ASEAN and external partners and other stakeholders. In the years ahead, the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN will continue to double its efforts, work closely together with all other ASEAN mechanisms and partners, and make further tangible contributions to the realisation of an ASEAN Community as envisioned.”