52nd anniversary of ASEAN held in Colombo

Colombo(News1st) - A flag hoisting ceremony was held at the Chancery of the Embassy of Indonesia in Colombo this morning, to mark the 52nd founding anniversary of the Association of South-East Asian Nations. ASEAN is among one of the high-achieving regional organizations of the world and plays an important role in the open, inclusive and ASEAN-centred regional architecture. The event was attended by several distinguished guests, including the Ambassador of Thailand and ASEAN Chair, Chulamanee Chatsuwan. Chulamanee Chatsuwan addressed the guests to share a few thoughts. He began, "we as ASEAN members are proud of ASEAN achievements. Certain Economists have forecasted that ASEAN has the potential to become the 4th largest economy in the world by the year 2030." He emphasized that the current ASEAN vision is not only about the community built-in within a peaceful and prosperous Asia but ASEAN is a mature community which has contributed and is determined to continue towards peace and prosperity as a responsible player. Speaking at the event, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ravinath Ariyasinghe mentioned that according to Professor Shelton Kodikara who is best known in Sri Lanka as a foreign policy analyst, at the time Asian's inaugural meeting was taking place they kept it open for 24 hours to enable Sri Lanka to make up its mind on whether to join the association. However, Sri Lanka decided to keep out of it. The minister emphasized that Sri Lanka is willing to get back in. He further noted that Sri Lanka has sought a sectoral dialogue partnership with ASEAN in February 2019. He mentioned that Sri Lanka has presented the dossier for this and will be looking forward to the adoption and its early implementation. He further mentioned that "We accorded the sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN at an early date so that we can continue the historical legacy of partnership we have had with your region and your people"