Marking the Anniversary of the Founding of ASEAN
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 6, 2013
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, we join the 600 million people of the member states of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of
Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the
Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - in marking the
46th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN.
ASEAN plays a critical and growing role in Asia through promoting regional integration and maintaining regional
security. As the central regional organization in Asia, ASEAN is the keystone for Asia’s multilateral architecture,
including the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit.
The United States is deeply committed to supporting and partnering with ASEAN. The United States was the first dialogue
partner nation to establish a dedicated mission to ASEAN. Our engagement with ASEAN has led to collaboration on
everything from maritime security to investing in sustainable energy resources to development in the Lower Mekong
sub-region.
I was privileged to participate in my first ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial meeting just last month in Brunei to advance our
cooperation on this wide range of shared interests, and I look forward to deepening and broadening our cooperation in
the coming years. And I know that President Obama looks forward to participating in the East Asia Summit and the
ASEAN-U.S. Summit in Brunei in October.
As we celebrate the anniversary of the founding of ASEAN, know that the United States stands with you as a steadfast
partner.
ENDS