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8 August 2011---- Chargé d’ Affaires
Mr. Conrado B. Demdem, Jr. led the
Philippine Embassy in Islamabad in
celebrating the 44th
Founding Anniversary of the
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) with the historic
raising of the ASEAN Flag at the
Chancery grounds.
The ceremony began early in the
morning with the hoisting of the
Philippine Flag and the singing of
the Philippine National Anthem. Ms.
Domifel B. Umingli, Attaché, then
led Embassy personnel in the
recitation of the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Philippine Flag.
This was immediately followed by
the official raising of the ASEAN
Flag for the first time in
Islamabad, as well as the singing of
the ASEAN Anthem, “The ASEAN
Way.”
Later that morning, the ASEAN
Islamabad Committee (AIC) held its
own ASEAN Flag-Raising Ceremony at
the Indonesian Chancery. Despite
the heavy downpour, the ASEAN Heads
of Mission, their spouses, and staff
came in full force, excited to
witness the momentous event.
Speaking on the occasion, H.E.
Indonesian Ambassador Ishak
Latuconsina, host of the event, said
ASEAN was moving toward its vision
of a single community by 2015, and
also working to become a
“responsible member of the
international community.” For his
part, H.E. Vietnamese Ambassador and
current AIC Chair Nguyen Viet Hung
expressed his optimism about
ASEAN-Pakistan relations, saying the
prospect was “very bright” for
deeper friendship between the two.
Also speaking was H.E. Mr. Sajjad
Kamran, Additional Secretary,
Asia-Pacific Division of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was
attending on behalf of Pakistani
Foreign Minister Ms. Hina Rabbani
Khar, the Chief Guest, who was in
Lahore City at that time.
In his address, Additional Secretary
Kamran conveyed the warm greetings
and felicitations of H.E. Ms. Khar
on the historic occasion. He said
ASEAN was a “true success story,”
which was able to turn challenges
into opportunities. The hoisting of
the ASEAN Flag, he added, was a
symbol of ASEAN “stability, unity,
and dynamism,” as well as the
abiding friendship and multi-faceted
relations between ASEAN and
Pakistan. He expressed Pakistan’s
long desire to become a Full
Dialogue Partner of ASEAN and to
forge a Free Trade Agreement with
the regional bloc.
To note, ASEAN-Pakistan relations
have grown steadily over the past
years. Trade between Pakistan and
ASEAN has crossed the US$5 billion
mark. Pakistan has been a Sectoral
Dialogue Partner of ASEAN since the
1990s. To demonstrate its desire to
become a Full Dialogue Partner,
Pakistan has taken several steps,
including accession to the Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation, membership in
the ASEAN Regional Forum in 2004,
signing of a Joint Declaration
for Cooperation to Combat Terrorism
in 2005, and the launching of the
ASEAN-Pakistan Fund in 2006.
In Pakistan, ASEAN is represented by
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand,
and Vietnam. The AIC, which is made
up of the Heads of Mission of these
countries, was established with the
Inaugural Meeting of the
Establishment of ASEAN-Pakistan
Sectoral Dialogue on 5-7 November
1997 in Islamabad. Since its
founding, the AIC has engaged in
several activities designed to
strengthen camaraderie among the
ASEAN Missions in Pakistan, and to
foster closer relations between the
ASEAN and Pakistan. END |
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