JAKARTA, 8 August 2022 – After two years of online celebration due to the pandemic, ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) held a physical celebration at its headquarter in Jakarta to mark ASEAN’s 55th anniversary. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi of Indonesia graced the event along with the Secretary-General (SG) of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi and the diplomatic community in the Indonesian capital.
This year’s anniversary carried the theme “Stronger Together” in line with Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2022 theme of “Addressing Challenges Together”. The celebration reminded the people of ASEAN to remain united and lend their collective strength as the region recovers from COVID-19 pandemic.
In his welcoming remarks, SG Dato Lim highlighted the achievements accomplished by a cohesive ASEAN amid the pandemic. He noted that in the past 55 years, ASEAN has delivered economic prosperity, social advancement, and regional peace by working collectively. Going forward, SG Dato Lim reinforced the essentiality for the region to stay in solidarity to address challenges and bring about more opportunities for all ASEAN citizens.
In her keynote address, Minister Retno expressed the need for ASEAN to retain its relevance by consolidating the region’s unity, reinforcing ASEAN centrality and strengthening its reliability. She also congratulated the 55tth anniversary and added, “I believe ASEAN matters and will always matter. Not only for what it is, but more for what it does.”
In his keynote message, the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, in his capacity as ASEAN Chair, said “it is the ASEAN centrality that is the primary driving force behind our substantive dialogue and cooperation with our external partners, particularly in the context of all ASEAN-led mechanisms.” He also congratulated ASEAN’s achievements in upholding the dialogues, economic integration, digitalization, and cooperation with external partners.
The 75-minute celebration was also broadcasted live through ASEAN’s social media channels. The ceremony showcased performances from ASEAN musicians – ASEC Choir, The ISN Orchestra and C asean Consonant. One highlight of the programme was the sand animation which captured the audience’s attention with a moving story of hope and bright future for ASEAN Community. The event also premiered a special video featuring ASEAN milestones in the last 55 years.
Embedded to the celebration was the awarding ceremony of the “ASEAN-Maybank Scholarship”. Supported by Maybank Foundation in partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat, this is a bursary initiative to award full scholarships to eligible undergraduate students from the ASEAN region. For this year, three students from Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar were selected to continue their study in their chosen university within ASEAN under this scheme.
In addition, to further commemorate the 55th ASEAN Day, ASEC, in collaboration with all ASEAN Member States, is hosting the third edition of the “ASEAN Online Sale Day” (http://onlineasean.com/) from 8 to 10 August, connecting consumers to regional e-commerce. This event is part of ASEAN efforts to improve consumer confidence, leveraging on digital technologies, towards a more robust recovery.
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