Visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has met with ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan in Jakarta at the invitation of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon. Source: Gretty Images

During the meeting yesterday, both leaders agreed that ASEAN and the UN have many common goals and areas that will complement each other, saying that this is an opportunity to exchange ideas and forge closer cooperation. The two acknowledged positive exchanges between the two secretariats since the ASEAN summit in Bali last year. Ban and Surin also agreed on changes in Myanmar, and discussed the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute, and progress on the ASEAN Initiative to establish the Institute of Peace and Reconciliation to which the UN will offer assistance, expertise, experience, and best practices in preventive diplomacy.