2nd Executive Committee meeting and Partnership Night held in Manila

Quezon City, Philippines — The 2nd meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of the East Asian Seas Partnership Council was convened on 14–15 March at PEMSEA Office Building in Manila, Philippines. The meeting was in preparation for the 2nd Partnership Council meeting in July 2008.The meeting was attended by the three Council Chairs, namely, Dr. Chua Thia-Eng, Council Chair; Dr. Li Haiqing, Intergovernmental Session Chair; and Mr. Hiroshi Terashima, Technical Session chair, as well as representatives from UNDP Manila and other resource persons. The agenda for the meeting included a presentation by the Technical Working Group on the recognition of PEMSEA's Legal Personality and the start-up of the GEF/UNDP Project on Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), among others. The results of the meeting will be reported during the EAS Partnership Council meeting in July 2008.On the evening of 14 March, PEMSEA also hosted a Partnership Night at the PEMSEA Office Building. The event provided a venue for PEMSEA partners to discuss various opportunities and initiatives for strengthening collective efforts in coastal and ocean governance in the region over the years to come. The Securing the Oceans – Essays on Ocean Governance, a book published jointly by PEMSEA and the Nippon Foundation, was also launched during the event.