The 11th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Minerals (ASOMM) Joint Working Group and Associated Meetings was held on 29 April – 3 May 2024 at The Stones Hotel- Legian Bali, Autograph Collection in Bali, Indonesia.
The meeting was intended to present updates on the status of the project activities identified under Phase 2 of the ASEAN Minerals Cooperation Action Plan 2016-2025 (AMCAP-III).
AMCAP has served as the blueprint for ASEAN minerals cooperation to further enhance the dynamic development of the ASEAN minerals sector. The development of Phase 2 of the AMCAP-III seeks to create an advanced and progressive ASEAN minerals sector for ASEAN socio-economic prosperity and environmental well-being through enhancing trade and investment and strengthening cooperation and capacity building for sustainable mineral development in the region.
The first day of the meeting kicked off with a series of talks on the “ASEAN-IGF Workshop on Formalization of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mines”. Keynote speakers were from the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF); Empresa Nacional Mineral (ENAMI)-Chile, Honduras; University of Surrey-UK; and Alliance of Responsible Mining (ARM).
Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) OIC Assistant Director Engr. Teodorico A. Sandoval, Head of Delegation and focal point of the Working Group on Mineral Information Database (WGMID) - Philippines, briefly shared the Philippine experience in relation to the awarding of small-scale mining contract through the declaration of Minahang Bayan under the Republic Act No. 7076.
Through the collective engagement of Member States, national government and sub-national government, investors in the minerals sector, and relevant non-government actors, it is expected that the formalization of small-scale mines in ASEAN would translate to the strengthening of human, institutional, and technical capacities in minerals governance of the ASEAN minerals sector for achieving increased investment, greater output and trade in minerals and mineral products, and stronger positive economic, societal and environmental outcomes.
The succeeding meetings were allotted for the updates on the project activities being implemented by the Working Groups and “the ways forward” to fast-track the programmed activities, with the chairs of the working group as presenters. The current chairs of the meetings are as follows: Working Group on Trade and Investment in Minerals (WGTIM) – chaired by Thailand; Working Group on Sustainable Mineral Development (WGSMD) – chaired by Myanmar and Philippines, represented by Engr. Marcial Mateo of MGB, as Vice Chair; the Working Group on Capacity Building on Minerals (WGCBM) – chaired by the Philippines, represented by Dr. Karlo L. Queaño of MGB; and WGMID – chaired by Brunei Darussalam.
The key focus of the activities under the WGTIM is to boost domestic and international investments in all components of the minerals value chain across ASEAN Member States. In line with this, the Philippines as represented by Engr. Romualdo Aguilos of MGB and representatives of other ASEAN member states recognized the need to promote ASEAN as a minerals investment destination to stimulate the development of the region’s minerals resources, in terms of production and trade/exports.
The six (6)-day event, with the exception of Vietnam, was attended by the representatives of all ASEAN member states.
