Malaysia Proposes Sustainable Haze Fund and Science Diplomacy at ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila
Malaysia is calling for a more proactive, coordinated ASEAN response to transboundary haze, advancing proposals for scientific cooperation and a Sustainable Haze Fund, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila on November 14.
Mohamad said deteriorating air quality, including unhealthy and hazardous levels in several areas, posed serious risks to public health, livelihoods and daily activities, particularly among vulnerable populations. ASEAN must pursue a more proactive and coordinated regional response, anchored in the effective implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, he said, adding that Malaysia's proposals on Science Diplomacy and a Sustainable Haze Fund were intended to strengthen scientific cooperation, sustainable financing and collective response.
He called for ratification of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control, saying its early deployment was essential to improving regional preparedness and responsiveness. He expressed appreciation for Indonesia's ongoing efforts to contain land and forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra that have caused severe transboundary haze in parts of the region, and acknowledged the difficulties posed by El Niño conditions, unpredictable weather and the remoteness of affected areas.
Malaysia would pursue its proposals at the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in December, as well as through its chairmanship of the Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2027, he said.
On broader regional cooperation, Mohamad also said ASEAN must strengthen consensus and safeguard its centrality amid growing geopolitical and economic fragmentation, and welcomed the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement as a catalyst for digital connectivity, trade expansion and regional competitiveness.
(Source: Bernama)
Source: Bernama
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：马来西亚首都吉隆坡天际线（资料图）。CEphoto, Uwe Aranas 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Kuala Lumpur skyline in Malaysia (file photo). By CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
