ASEAN COMMITTEE IN RABAT CELEBRATES 56TH FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY OF ASEAN
(L-R: ChargeĢe d’Affaires of Brunei Nur Hafizah Al-Islam Binti Awang Mahani, Thai Ambassador Fabio Chinda, Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Thi Thu Ha, Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Astanah Abdul Aziz, Indonesian Ambassador Hasrul Azwar, and Philippine Ambassador Leslie J. Baja)
8 August 2023 – The ASEAN Committee in Rabat (ACR) under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mrs. Dang Thi Thu Ha, Ambassador of Vietnam to Morocco, commemorated the 56th founding anniversary of ASEAN through a flag raising ceremony held at the Indonesian Embassy in Rabat.
In her welcome remarks, Ambassador Dang highlighted the achievements of ASEAN in the past 56 years and underscored the strong partnership between ASEAN and Morocco marked by several achievements in the past years. Noting ASEAN’s central role in the Asia-Pacific region and Morocco’s position as gateway to Africa, Ambassador Dang conveyed ASEAN’s readiness to work with Morocco in addressing common challenges faced by both regions.
In his remarks, Ambassador Fouad Yazourh, Director-General for Bilateral and Regional Affairs and guest of honor of the occasion, congratulated ASEAN for the relevance of its achievements in the past 56 years, including the decision to grant in principle Morocco’s bid to become an ASEAN SDP. He also underscored how the values deeply shared by Morocco and ASEAN member states led to a stable and dynamic partnership that “is based on trust, equality, respect for international law, the sovereignty of States, the rejection of separatism, and our deep conviction of the importance of multilateralism and south-south cooperation.”
ASEAN dialogue partners, guests from the MFA, and media partners graced the occasion. The flag raising ceremony was followed by a tea reception featuring traditional delicacies from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The ACR was established in 2015 and is one of the 55 ASEAN Committees in Third Countries and International Organizations (ACTCs). The ACR is composed of six (6) ASEAN Member States with resident missions in Rabat. The Chairmanship rotates semi-annually among the ASEAN Ambassadors. The Philippines is slated to be the next ACR Chair. END
