Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the ASEAN Charter needs three months to be published before ratified by the parliaments of the ASEAN member countries.
Wirajuda made the remarks following a Foreign Breakfast Policy function at the Foreign Ministry on Friday, Antara news agency reported on Saturday.
The minister said socialization was necessary because the ASEAN Charter is a new constitution for the ASEAN community.
The minister disclosed that the Indonesian government will submit the ASEAN Charter to the House of Representatives (DPR) for ratification in April 2008.
Wirajuda expressed the hope that the charter will be ratified in the middle of this year as agreed to by other ASEAN member countries, and that the ratification of the charter by the ten ASEAN countries will be completed by the end of 2008.
ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The Foreign Minister underlined the need for forming a decision-making organization for a better cooperation mechanism when ASEAN reached its 40th anniversary.
Singapore was the first ASEAN member country which ratified the charter in January 2008 and handed the ratification document to the ASEAN secretariat general.
Source: Xinhua
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