Nay Pyi Taw  – The Twelfth Conference of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (12th AMRI) and the Third Conference of ASEAN Plus Three Ministers Responsible for Information (3rd AMRI+3) were held in Nay Pyi Taw on June 12. The Conference was officiated by the Vice President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Dr. Sai Mauk Kham.

In his opening address, the Vice President emphasised that “as we are moving forward to set up a people-centred ASEAN Community and enhancing connectivity for an ASEAN Community, media cooperation plays an important role in linking our societies and encouraging civil society to participate in regional-community building.”

At the 12th AMRI, the Ministers agreed to adopt the Declaration on Social Responsible Media for a Peaceful and Prosperous Community. The Declaration is a guiding document to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of information and media through undertaking programmes and joint activities, and by leveraging on all forms of media. Furthermore, the Ministers noted the setting up of three Working Groups, namely ASEAN Digital Broadcasting (ADB); Working Group on Information, Media, and Training; and Working Group on Content and Production, to strengthen the information and media cooperation in ASEAN.

At the conference, the Ministers also endorsed a recommendation on the development of an ASEAN-wide Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial (DVB-T2) Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) specification to reap the benefits of economies of scale for affordable DVB-T2 IRDs in ASEAN Member States who already adopted DVB-T2 for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting.

Meanwhile, at the 3rd AMRI+3, the Ministers exchanged views on the progress of ASEAN Plus Three cooperation and possible measures to further enhance cooperation between ASEAN and the Plus Three countries in the field of information and media.  The Ministers reviewed the progress of the ASEAN-China Work Plan on Enhancing ASEAN-China Cooperation through Information and Media (2010-2015), and the Work Plan on Enhancing ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Through Information and Media (2012 – 2017).

The next AMRI and AMRI+3 Meetings are scheduled to be held in 2016 in the Philippines.

Photo: The Twelfth Conference of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information. Source: ASEAN Secretariat