Text of report in English by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat website on 22 July
["Chairman's Statement of the EAS Foreign Ministers' Informal Consultations datelined Singapore , 22 July 2008"]
1 The EAS Foreign Ministers' Informal Consultations was held on 22 July 2008 in Singapore. The Consultations were chaired by H.E. George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore.
2 The Ministers had a wide-ranging and fruitful exchange of views on key regional and international issues. Amidst volatile and escalating oil prices, the Ministers agreed that greater regional and international cooperation was important in ensuring the region's energy security. They welcomed the substantive progress made by the EAS energy sectoral in the areas of energy efficiency and conservation, energy market integration, and bio-fuels for transport and other purposes. Moreover, EAS countries could also consider strengthening dialogue and communication between energy producers and consumers, encouraging the private sector to participate in the development of alternative energy sources like hydro-power and biofuels, as well as concrete measures to address the problem of oil speculation.
3 The Ministers also noted that food security was another key concern for EAS countries. It was important to ensure that markets functioned efficiently, address the problem of speculation in food prices, and to come up with longer-term agricultural solutions. Various ideas were suggested, including the use of high yield agricultural seedlings, greater research and development, as well as developing techniques to exploit more inhospitable agricultural environments for food production. In addition, the EAS could pursue concrete cooperation in areas such as the production, transportation and preservation of food. The private sector should also be encouraged to participate in these areas.
4 The Ministers further reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the key challenge of climate change and working towards an effective, comprehensive, and equitable post-2012 international climate change arrangement under the UNFCCC process. The Ministers also noted the Republic of Korea's willingness to host the RIO+20 World Summit in 2012, in which world leaders would be able to reaffirm their commitment to sustainable development in the post- 2012 climate regime. The Ministers also exchanged views on the global financial situation and welcomed continued cooperation between EAS countries in the area of finance.
5 The Foreign Ministers agreed that we should pursue a holistic and sustainable approach to these issues, given their inter-related nature in particular the need to balance between food and biofuel production. Elements of such an approach might include, for instance, a framework to generate and share knowledge between countries, as well as a means to deal with excesses and instabilities.