The 17th Meeting of Steering Committee
On 14 December 2021, the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) convened its 17th Steering Committee (SC) Meeting in person at ARMAC Headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and online. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Pengiran Kasmirhan Pengiran Tahir, Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Cambodia. This is the last meeting in 2021 under Brunei’s Chairmanship. The 17th SC Meeting underscored ARMAC’s accomplishments in the second half of 2021 including the approval of a technical advisory grant from the Government of New Zealand for the preparation of ARMAC’s long term strategic plan, and the funding support from the Government of Thailand to host a regional forum on humanitarian mine action cooperation and assistance in border areas. It also reiterated on the AMS continued support to ARMAC as evidenced by the replenishment of voluntary contribution received from the Governments of Brunei, Myanmar, Viet Nam and Thailand. The Meeting also presented the progress of the Mid-Term Review, ongoing projects and activities, and the 2022 Work and Budget Plans.
In his closing remarks, H.E. Ambassador Tahir conveyed his appreciation to all SC Members for their excellent cooperation and support during Brunei’s Chairmanship as well as for the opportunity to contribute to the efforts towards humanitarian mine action in the region. In concluding the Meeting, H.E. Ambassador Tahir handed over the 2022 Chairmanship of ARMAC to H.E. Mr. Ung Rachana, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Government of Cambodia.
The meeting was attended by in person and online delegates from the 10 AMS, ARMAC Executive Director, and the Permanent Secretariat.
The 16th Meeting of Steering Committee
On 27 July 2021, the Permanent Secretariat of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center organized its 16th Steering Committee Meeting with a total of 26 delegates representing each of the AMS attending the Meeting in virtual format while 8 delegates including Chairman (Brunei) and Vice Chairmen (Cambodia and Viet Nam) attended the meeting in person.
ARMAC Chairman, H.E. Mr. Pengiran Kasmirhan Pengiran Tahir who is concurrently the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Kingdom of Cambodia presided over the meeting and discussed key issues relating to ARMAC’s new projects and partnerships, financial sustainability as well as plans for remaining activities that are scheduled for 2021.
ARMAC Chairman applauded ARMAC on receiving the project funding from the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Italy. The Chairman also praised ARMAC’s resilience during the pandemic and commended its recent successful organization of a regional hybrid workshop funded by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and looked forward to more activities similar to this format in line with ARMAC’s mandate and functions.
The 17th Steering Committee Meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place in December 2021.
(ARMAC, 27 July 2021)
The 15th Meeting of Steering Committee
On 30 March 2021, the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) convened its 15th Steering Committee Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Pengiran Kasmirhan Pengiran Tahir, Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Ambassadors and representatives from the ten ASEAN Member States (AMS), ARMAC’s Executive Director, and the Permanent Secretariat (PS) attended the meeting in person and online. The 15th SCM is the first Meeting under Brunei Darussalam’s Chairmanship.
The meeting provided an update of ARMAC’s project pipeline, and operational budget with the view of moving toward financial sustainability. The meeting discussed the way forward for the implementation of the anticipated Friends of ARMAC event and other ongoing projects, as well as status of AMS contributions.
In closing, H.E. Tahir conveyed his appreciation to the SC Members for their inputs and continued support and cooperation to ARMAC. He also commended ARMAC PS for putting in safety measures to organize this meeting amidst the pandemic situation in Cambodia.
(ARMAC, 30 March 2021)