President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Abdulla Shahid has expressed gratitude to the member states of ASEAN and the ASEAN New York Committee for their “strong” support towards his ‘Presidency of Hope’.
He said this in his remarks at the ASEAN Day, celebrated on August 8.
As such, expressing delight in joining the commemoration of the 55th Anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN, PGA Shahid congratulated and applauded the Kingdom of Cambodia for Chairing of ASEAN in 2022 as well as for adopting the very “timely” and “relevant” theme of “Addressing Challenges Together”.
Stressing that the world confronts multiple challenges at present including the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, conflicts in Palestine and around the world, food and energy insecurity, economic downturn and climate change among many others, the PGA highlighted the pivotal role played by regional and sub-regional organizations in “upholding” and “advancing” the multilateralism needed to address these global challenges.
Since its establishment on 8 August 1967, ASEAN has played a pivotal role in the region. ASEAN has emerged as a political and economic powerhouse, with a combined population of 670 million people, and a combined GDP of USD 3.2 trillion. Its longstanding commitment to the norms of dialogue, consultation, cooperation and the ASEAN way of doing things has underpinned peace, stability, and prosperity in the region for decades. This was demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when ASEAN undertook many effective initiatives to coordinate responses and mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the virus. The leadership and framework of cooperation provided by ASEAN was critical in helping countries contain the pandemic.”Abdulla Shahid, PGA.
Going on to congratulate ASEAN for the “remarkable” progress it has made towards the realization of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 in its three pillars, relating to political-security, the economy, and socio-cultural community, the PGA also noted that this vision covers a wide spectrum of cooperation, encircling several important areas including defense, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, economic integration, climate action, disaster risk reduction as well as women and youth.
With this, he welcomed the enhancing of the ASEAN-United Nations partnership in an array of areas such as on political-security, economic advancement, disaster-relief, human rights, climate change as well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
PGA Shahid noted that he believes that the ASEAN-UN Plan of Action 2021-2025 will guide both organizations in further strengthening partnerships in the coming years.
Shahid expressed gratitude to the ASEAN member states and the ASEAN New York Committee for the strong support they have provided to his Presidency of Hope and expressed deep appreciation for his interactions with ASEAN leaders, parliamentarians, women, youth, and civil society, both during his visits to the region, and in New York.
He went on to express hope that ASEAN will continue its role as a driver for peace, stability and prosperity throughout its region, and throughout the world, as it marks its 55th anniversary.
