03 February – Philippine Ambassador to Timor-Leste Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia hosted a dinner for ASEAN heads of missions in Timor-Leste on January 29.
Those who were present during the dinner were Indonesian Ambassador Primanto Hendrasmoro and his spouse, Madam Peni Windarti Hendrasmoro, Malaysian Ambassador-Designate Chitra Devi Remiah and her spouse, Rasli Earnest Sanmugam; Thai Chargé d’ Affaires, a.i. (CDA) Chusak Kulvatdhanaporn, and Bruneian CDA Hilmy Zainal.
Over dinner, Ambassador Austria-Garcia and her counterparts had an exchange of views on how the ASEAN group in Dili could further establish cordial ties with the Timor-Leste Government, as well as support the community-building efforts of ASEAN.
To formally kick off ASEAN’s 50th Founding Anniversary in 2017, which the Philippines is set to chair, Ambassador Austria-Garcia proposed that the group organize this year an ASEAN flag-raising ceremony and an ASEAN Family Day. The Ambassador’s proposal was positively received by her counterparts.
The evening ended on a positive note. END