Dr. Martel Appointed as Canadian EEP to ASEAN

Colin FarrellyDr. Martel Appointed as Canadian EEP to ASEAN

Assistant Professor in the Department, Dr. Stéphanie Martel, was recently appointed as the Canadian representative to the Eminent and Expert Persons (EEPs) Group of the ASEAN Regional Forum. 

The EEP Group convened most recently in Japan, from February 25-27. Dr. Martel is honoured to have been appointed to this position, and the Department is proud of her accomplishment!

Follow Dr. Martel on Twitter to remain up-to-date on her participation. 

About ARF

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a key multilateral dialogue on political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific. Its mission is to foster constructive dialogue and consultation on issues of common interest and concern between its 27 member states, and to make significant contributions to efforts towards confidence-building, preventive diplomacy, and conflict resolution in the Asia-Pacific region. The ARF membership includes the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), its dialogue partners (Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States), and others (ex. North Korea). The ARF, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, primarily consists of an annual meeting between Foreign Ministers, supported by a Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and inter-sessional meetings and working groups. The ARF also includes a dialogue between defence officials, and a biennial civil-military disaster relief exercise, known as the ARF disaster relief exercise (DiREx).

The ARF’s Eminent and Expert Persons (EEPs) Group was activated in 2004 at the 11th ASEAN Regional Forum. The group’s stated objective is to provide informed analysis and advice to the official ARF process to support the advancement of its mission. The EEPG is a “Track 1.5” initiative, and primarily consists of retired officials, think tank leaders, and academics. Each member state has the responsibility to appoint up to five EEPs. Each annual meeting produces a chair persons’ report, forwarded to ARF officials, and considered in the chain of meetings leading to the ARF Ministerial Meeting. The EEPs also organize virtual working groups on specific issues between annual meetings.

Read more here, on their website.