11 August 2016 — The Philippine Embassy in Dili, in partnership with the Embassies of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, hosted a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the 49th founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on August 08.
The five resident ASEAN diplomatic missions in Timor-Leste took the opportunity to highlight the notable gains made by ASEAN as a regional organization. ASEAN’s dramatic transformation from a regular gathering of leaders into a fully multilateral organization was particularly highlighted in the speech that the Philippine Embassy had prepared for this special occasion.
As noted in the speech, the ten ASEAN member states have been working closely together to build a well-integrated, well connected, and people-centered community. Such integration efforts are already bearing fruit as shown by the establishment of the ASEAN community on December 31, 2015 which will provide immense opportunities not only for a combined Southeast Asian population of over 620 million people, but also for the people of other countries and organizations outside the region.
The speech also underscored that ASEAN is now the 7th largest economy in the world. ASEAN has likewise become a single market and production base. In 2014, the region’s combined gross domestic product (GDP) is US$2.6 trillion.
The event’s guest of honor, Timor-Leste Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Roberto Sarmento de Oliveira Soares, stated that Timor-Leste shares with the other ASEAN member countries the vision for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Southeast Asian region. He also said that his country attaches great importance to its application to become the 11th member of ASEAN.
The event was attended by officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and other Timorese government officials, as well as members of the diplomatic corps, the private sector, and the ASEAN community in Timor-Leste.
This is the first time that such an ASEAN commemorative activity was held in Timor-Leste. The ASEAN missions in Dili are planning to roll out activities in the near future to foster the Timorese people’s greater awareness and understanding of ASEAN. END
