Head of ASEAN Community Relation Division Mario Arca welcoming delegates of the Constitutional Court’s AACC Permanent Secretariat and international interns, Monday (11/2) in the Bougainville Room of the ASEAN Permanent Secretariat. Photo by Humas MK.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia - Constitutional Court delegation represented by the AACC Permanent Secretariat and the International Cooperation Division visited the ASEAN Permanent Secretariat on Monday (11/2/2019) to study the management of secretariat and communication of a multilateral regional organization. The Court delegates were welcomed by the Head of ASEAN Community Relation Division Mario Arca. The meeting was opened with the explanation on the history of ASEAN and the socio-eco-political backgrounds underlying the establishment of the association.

Mario stated that ASEAN was originally founded in 1967 by five countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines) that actually did not have a close relationship with each other, but had the same enthusiasm to promote peace, economic stability, and a sense of justice in Southeast Asia. These three things brought the five countries to sit together and have a collective dream for the future of Southeast Asia. Entering its 51st year, with the exception of Timor Leste, all countries in Southeast Asia have joined the association and formed the ASEAN Economic Community.

In the meeting, the Constitutional Court delegation also received an explanation of the way the ASEAN Secretariat provided technical support for the running of meetings, conventions, and negotiations that would ultimately lead to the implementation of the ASEAN Summit as the highest decision making forum of the heads of ASEAN member countries. Within one year, the ASEAN Secretariat had held 1,200 meetings to support the operation of ASEAN. "So, we hold 3 international meetings on a daily basis," said Mario. He also added that the function of the secretariat was crucial not only in terms of the logistics of the meeting, but also in the matter of substance within the framework of cooperation and movement of the association.

Closing the meeting, the Head of the International Cooperation Division of the Constitutional Court Immanuel Hutasoit expressed his hope that the relationship between the AACC Permanent Secretariat and the Court\'s International Cooperation and the ASEAN Permanent Secretariat could be maintained especially in sharing experiences on managing secretariat and promoting ASEAN member countries to join the AACC (Association of Asian Constitutional Courts). The meeting was concluded with a visit to the ASEAN art gallery and library.

The visit to the ASEAN Permanent Secretariat is the conclusion to the series of audience trilogy organized by the AACC Permanent Secretariat and the International Cooperation Division in the preparation of the International Symposium of the Constitutional Court in mid-November 2019. Previously, the Court delegation had visited the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) (31/1/2019) for a comparative study of the organization of the International Business Integrity Conference, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (6/1/2019) to learn the techniques of public diplomacy. (IH/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)