Excellencies the Foreign Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN,
Honoured Guests,
1. It is my great pleasure and honour to welcome all of you to the Opening Ceremony of the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings today.
2. It was in 1967 that the ASEAN journey began — when the Foreign Ministers of five ASEAN Member States came together at Laem Thaen and, guided by the “Spirit of Bang Saen”, signed the Bangkok Declaration, underscoring their commitment to building a region of peace, security and prosperity. From then to now, and from a small Association to a Community of ten nations,
this commitment has been passed from one generation to the next.
Download the full statement here.
