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 peace
and prosperity in the region and beyond, said Cambodian Ambassador to the
Republic of Korea Long Dimanche at a banquet hosted by the ten ASEAN nations in
Seoul on November 2.
The
banquet was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN with ambassadors
from ten ASEAN nations, including Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tu, Speaker
of the RoK National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun and many foreign diplomats in Seoul
in attendance.
Opening
the event, he looked back on the time when five ASEAN founding members –
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines – signed the ASEAN
Declaration in 1967, “with aspirations to promote regional cooperation and
contribute towards peace, progress and prosperity in the region”.
Ambassador
Long hailed ASEAN as one of the most successful regionalism models in the world
that “shows how integration becomes plausible despite differences in
backgrounds, cultures and stages of development.”
The
ambassador also expressed his delight at the growth of the ASEAN-RoK relations
since the two sides initiated sectorial dialogue in 1989.
In
his congratulatory remarks, Chung highly spoke of the ASEAN development over
the past five decades. “Though having to face numerous challenges and hardships
since its inception, the countries of ASEAN have been marching forward for
integration, and not losing the first purpose for creating regional peace and
communal prosperity”, he said.
Speaker of the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun makes a congratulatory remark at the banquet. (Photo: VNA)
He
moved on to talk about the progress in the RoK-ASEAN relation, which was elevated
to partners of comprehensive cooperation in 2004 and Strategic Partnership in
2010. “At present, ASEAN is the 2nd trading partner of Korea and Korea is the 6th
trading partner of ASEAN.”
“ASEAN
and Korea are the main partners in many aspects”, he noted, urging that the two
sides have to develop and increase mutual cooperation and reliance more than
ever. “Korea needs ASEAN and ASEAN needs Korea. When we help each other, we
will be prosperous together,” he stressed.
Chung
vowed that the RoK will continue to provide support for the steady and
continuous development of ASEAN.
To
mark the 50th ASEAN Anniversary and the 2017 ASEAN-Korea Cultural Exchange
Year, the RoK government opened the ASEAN Culture House in Busan on September 1
which also would serve to boost bilateral cultural cooperation and
people-to-people contact and to enhance Koreans’ understanding of the culture
and societies of ASEAN countries.-VNA