We, the Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA) held our 13th meeting today in New York, on the sidelines of the high-level meetings of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Five years ago, on 25 September 2013, we met for the first time and agreed on launching MIKTA as a cross-regional and innovative consultative partnership of like-minded countries with shared ideas and interests and the commitment to strengthen multilateralism and promote global governance. We are united by the conviction that top 20 economies can, and must play, an active role in today's rapidly changing world.
We have made strong progress in advancing MIKTA's objectives over the past five years. Our achievements include increasing mutual understanding, deepening bilateral ties and finding common ground for cooperation. We have held regular consultations aimed at advancing multilateral discussions on common issues and have successfully bridged polarized policy positions with creative solutions to global and regional challenges.
MIKTA's actions have expanded to a wide range of state and non-state actors, such as parliamentarians, policy planning officials, innovation leaders, academia, journalists, and outreach programs among others, bringing a rich diversity of perspectives and initiatives to advance our goals in our core areas of collaboration.
Each member has served as MIKTA Coordinator for a one-year period since its inception. We are reaching the conclusion of the first cycle of this partnership. As we move forward towards MIKTA's consolidation, we reassert our commitment to a rules-based international system, anchored in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and other universally recognized norms governing international relations. We will continue to support peace, stability, prosperity and sustainable development in our regions and across the world.
We recognize Indonesia's leadership as MIKTA Coordinator in 2018 and look forward to furthering our cooperation in 2019, when it is Mexico's turn to coordinate MIKTA for the second time.
