MFA Press Statement: Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo at the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting III and the ASEAN-Mercosur Meeting, 22 August 2007, Brasilia, Brazil

Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo attended the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting III (FEALAC FMM III) from 22-23 August 2007 in Brasilia, Brazil. FEALAC comprises of 33 countries in East Asia and Latin America. The discussions centred around the main theme for FEALAC FMM III which was promoting trade and investment links between the two regions. A transcript of Minister Yeo's speech which he delivered off-the-cuff at the meeting is attached at Annex A.

A meeting between the heads of delegation of members of ASEAN and Mercosur was also held on the sidelines of the FEALAC FMM III. (Mercosur comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.) The meeting was hosted by Brazil and co-chaired by Singapore, the current ASEAN Chair, and Uruguay, the pro tempore president of Mercosur. ASEAN and Mercosur agreed that the two groupings should start a process of consultations with the aim of increasing economic linkages between the two regions. Uruguay extended an invitation for ASEAN to attend the Mercosur meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, in December 2007. The ASEAN-Mercosur meeting also agreed that it would be useful for the ASEAN Secretariat and the Commission of Permanent Representatives of Mercosur to establish contacts to explore ways to deepen engagement between the two regions.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
24 AUGUST 2007