Ambassadors from ten ASEAN nations pose for a photo with Speaker of the Republic of Korea's National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun at a banquet to mark the 50th ASEAN Anniversary in Seoul on November 2. (Photo: VNA)Seoul (VNA) – ASEAN is taking a centre stage in shaping agenda for peaceand prosperity in the region and beyond, said Cambodian Ambassador to theRepublic of Korea Long Dimanche at a banquet hosted by the ten ASEAN nations inSeoul on November 2.
Thebanquet was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN with ambassadorsfrom ten ASEAN nations, including Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tu, Speakerof the RoK National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun and many foreign diplomats in Seoulin attendance.
Openingthe event, he looked back on the time when five ASEAN founding members –Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines – signed the ASEANDeclaration in 1967, “with aspirations to promote regional cooperation andcontribute towards peace, progress and prosperity in the region”.
AmbassadorLong hailed ASEAN as one of the most successful regionalism models in the worldthat “shows how integration becomes plausible despite differences inbackgrounds, cultures and stages of development.”
Theambassador also expressed his delight at the growth of the ASEAN-RoK relationssince the two sides initiated sectorial dialogue in 1989.
Inhis congratulatory remarks, Chung highly spoke of the ASEAN development overthe past five decades. “Though having to face numerous challenges and hardshipssince its inception, the countries of ASEAN have been marching forward forintegration, and not losing the first purpose for creating regional peace andcommunal prosperity”, he said.
Speaker of the Republic of Korea's National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun makes a congratulatory remark at the banquet. (Photo: VNA)Hemoved on to talk about the progress in the RoK-ASEAN relation, which was elevatedto partners of comprehensive cooperation in 2004 and Strategic Partnership in2010. “At present, ASEAN is the 2nd trading partner of Korea and Korea is the 6thtrading partner of ASEAN.”
“ASEANand Korea are the main partners in many aspects”, he noted, urging that the twosides have to develop and increase mutual cooperation and reliance more thanever. “Korea needs ASEAN and ASEAN needs Korea. When we help each other, wewill be prosperous together,” he stressed.
Chungvowed that the RoK will continue to provide support for the steady andcontinuous development of ASEAN.
Tomark the 50th ASEAN Anniversary and the 2017 ASEAN-Korea Cultural ExchangeYear, the RoK government opened the ASEAN Culture House in Busan on September 1which also would serve to boost bilateral cultural cooperation andpeople-to-people contact and to enhance Koreans’ understanding of the cultureand societies of ASEAN countries.-VNA
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