ASEAN flag raised globally to mark 57th anniversary

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on August 8 extended his congratulations to ASEAN via X social media platform, highlighting potential for economic, trade, and investment cooperation between Cuba and the bloc, which is home to over 650 million people. He also affirmed Cuba's readiness to strengthen the relations, particularly in economic and trade sectors.

On the same day, in Mexico, the ASEAN diplomatic mission held a flag-raising ceremony attended by the members of the ASEAN Committee in Mexico City (ACMC), representatives from the Mexican Foreign Ministry, international diplomatic corps, and ASEAN's friends and partners in the host country.

Speaking at the ceremony, Indonesian Ambassador to Mexico Cheppy Wartono, who is currently the rotating chairperson of the ACMC, emphasised ASEAN's growing role and position, and hailed it as a model of regional connectivity and cooperation. He noted that despite global challenges, ASEAN continues to contribute to regional and global peace, stability, and development through its cooperative mechanisms.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Van Hai highlighted Vietnam's entry into ASEAN in 1995 as a milestone both in the country's foreign policy post the August Revolutionary in 1945 as well as in ASEAN's development.

He noted the membership also marked Vietnam's regional and global integration, aligning with its foreign policy of diversifying and multilateralising international relations, and being a reliable partner, and an active, proactive and responsible member of the Southeast Asian nation community and the international community in general.

In Argentina, the embassies of ASEAN countries in Buenos Aires, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, in coordination with the the Argentine Foreign Ministry organised the celeberation on August 8.

Malaysian Ambassador to Argentina Nur Azman Abdul Rahim, rotating President of the ASEAN Committee in Argentina, noted the significant growth in trade between ASEAN and Argentina, which reached 9.1 billion USD in 2023. He said among the ASEAN member countries, Vietnam is Argentina's eighth largest trade partner with revenue of over 3.5 billion USD, followed by Thailand with 2.1 billion USD, and Indonesia with 1.3 billion USD.

Ambassador Abdul Rahim expressed his wish for stronger ASEAN-Argentina cooperation and support for Argentina to become ASEAN's development partner, saying one realised, Argentina will be the first Mercosur member to win the status.

Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister Sahores reiterated Argentina's commitment to strengthening the ties with ASEAN across all sectors, particularly in economy, trade, and investment, aiming to become ASEAN's key partner in Latin America.

On this occasion, an exhibition featuring ASEAN traditional costumes opened at the headquarters of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, displaying costumes from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

At a meeting with Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, ASEAN ambassadors praised Argentina's market-opening policies, which facilitate the expansion of the cooperation with ASEAN.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Ngo Minh Nguyet expressed her appreciation for Mondino's support, stressing the success of her visit to Vietnam in March 2024.

In the Czech Republic, Vietnam, as chair of the ASEAN Committee in Prague, hosted a ceremony commemorating ASEAN's 57th anniversary.

Vietnamese Ambassador Duong Hoai Nam underscored ASEAN's continued growth, emphasising the importance of connectivity and resilience in the bloc's 2024 agenda under Laos' chairmanship.

Czech Senate Vice President Jitka Seitlova praised ASEAN's dynamic development and the strong relations between the Czech Republic and the EU, and ASEAN. She expressed confidence in the early completion of the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and highlighted the importance of trade diversification for the Czech Republic.

Besides, Deputy Foreign Minister Eduard Hulicius noted the positive trajectory of the Czech-ASEAN relations, emphasising their potential for stronger cooperation in education and science.

(Source: VNA)