Thursday, January 15, 2009

Appointment of Pushpanathan Sundram as Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community

Mr Pushpanathan Sundram has been appointed the Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with effect from 1st January 2009. An oath-signing ceremony was held today at the ASEAN Secretariat to mark the appointment.  

 Mr S. Pushpanathan, a 47-year-old Singaporean, was selected by a panel comprising the ASEAN Secretary-General and representatives from the ten ASEAN Member States. His appointment was approved by the ASEAN Coordinating Council, comprising the ASEAN Foreign Ministers, when they convened for the first time on 15 December 2008 at the ASEAN Secretariat.  

   As DSG AEC, Mr S. Pushpanathan will assist the Secretary-General of ASEAN in supporting the realisation of the AEC by 2015. He will oversee the implementation of the AEC Blueprint towards the establishment of a Single Market and Production Base, a competitive economic region characterised by equitable development, and a region that is fully plugged into the global economy. He also will oversee the establishment and operations of the new high-level Office of Macroeconomic and Finance Surveillance which was endorsed by the ASEAN Leaders to monitor developments in the region and support the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation. 

  Before this new appointment, Mr S. Pushpanathan was Principal Director of the Bureau for Economic Integration and Finance at the ASEAN Secretariat. He joined the ASEAN Secretariat in 1996 and has held several senior positions. Prior to this, he was with the Ministry of Defence of Singapore from 1988-1995. He is married with three children. 

 Under the ASEAN Charter, which came into force on 15 December 2008, the Secretary-General shall be assisted by four Deputy Secretaries-General with the rank and status of Deputy Ministers. Two DSGs are nominated by Member States on a rotational basis for a non-renewable term of three years, and two DSGs are openly recruited based on merit for a term of three years, which may be renewed for another three years. With Mr S. Pushpanathan’s appointment, there will be three DSGs assisting the Secretary-General in his duties. A fourth DSG for Community and Corporate Affairs is being recruited.


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