Secretary-General of ASEAN visits Paris to promote ASEAN@50
Paris, 16 October 2017- Secretary-General of ASEAN Le Luong Minh visited Paris on 16 October 2017 to promote ASEAN to key stakeholders in France on the occasion of its golden jubilee.
During the visit Secretary-General Minh delivered an address at a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN. The event was organised by the ASEAN Committee in Paris (ACP) and attended by French Government officials as well as members of the diplomatic corps.
Secretary-General Minh also engaged with the business community in Paris through the ASEAN Business Forum organized by the Movement of the Enterprises of France and the ACP to share ASEAN’s experience in economic integration and to enhance economic relations between the two regions.
The forum, attended by members of the French business confederation, government representatives and the ACP also shared success stories of businesses in ASEAN including economic strategy and initiatives undertaken in ASEAN Member States. Cooperation in areas such as start-ups, digitalisation, as well as science, technology and innovation were highlighted.
Noting the growing business-to-business ties as well as trade and investment between ASEAN and France, the series of events underscored the importance of continuing the momentum to realise the full potential of the partnership. The visit also reaffirmed the ASEAN-EU cooperation, which enters the 40thyear of partnership this year. As two leading models of regionalism, both sides emphasised the importance of promoting a multilateral trading system and look forward to an ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement and an ASEAN-EU Air Transport Agreement to further enhance connectivity between the two regions.
At the sidelines of the events, Secretary-General Minh also met with Minister of State for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne. Both sides look forward to exploring cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as education, MSMEs development, climate change, sustainable development and transnational crime, in particular combatting terrorism and violent extremism.
