The US Department of State today opened the US-ASEAN Centre in Washington with the attendance of Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Liz Allen, according to the US Embassy in Hanoi.
Announced by Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2023 US-ASEAN Summit, the centre will serve as a hub for US-ASEAN engagement and deepen this important relationship.
The centre will bolster support for US economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia and help connect key private sector organisations, academic institutions, and civil society. Its activities will also strengthen the United States’ and ASEAN’s joint efforts to promote an open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure Indo-Pacific region.
Since the establishment of our dialogue partnership in 1977, the United States and ASEAN have built extensive cooperation in various areas under the political-security, economy, and socio-cultural pillars. The United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia, and more than 6,200 US businesses have contributed to a record $520.3 billion in total trade between the United States and the nations of ASEAN in 2022, creating 625,000 jobs in all 50 states, and 1 million jobs throughout Southeast Asia. The close US-ASEAN partnership is also reflected in the increasing people-to-people engagements for our combined one billion people, as well as the growing number of students from ASEAN countries in the United States.
Under Secretary Allen’s remarks highlighted the strong ties and the enduring strength of the US-ASEAN relationship, including her work building people to people ties in Indonesia December 4-5. There she oversaw expansion of the Fulbright program to religious schools, advocated for increased student exchanges, and marked the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative’s first decade serving as the premier US leadership and professional development program in the region.
US-ASEAN Centre opens
The US Department of State today opened the US-ASEAN Centre in Washington with the attendance of Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Liz Allen.
Source: dtinews.vn
