ASEAN TO FORGE STRONGER, MORE ASEAN TO FORGE STRONGER, MORE DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIPS : THAI PM : THAI PM

Jakarta, Feb 21 (ANTARA) - Visiting Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said ASEAN was forging stronger and more dynamic partnerships with the rest of the world in order to maintain regional peace, prosperity, and social wellbeing.
"ASEAN will continue to be an outward-looking organization by forging regional integration and cooperation with the rest of the world," Abhisit said in his keynote address before foreign diplomats at the ASEAN Secretariat here on Saturday.
He said ASEAN had also evolved into an internationally recognized and respected regional grouping.
"We have been able to attract our friends and Dialog Partners from all corners of the world to participate in our regional development and support our community-building efforts," he said.
The Thai prime minister noted that by providing a platform for engagement, dialogs and cooperation, ASEAN had been instrumental in forging closer partnerships with all key players who had an impact in the region and at the global level.
He said that in the new era, ASEAN's work had only begun and it still facing many international and regional challenges.
"In an ever more globalized and interconnected world, no country nor region can be isolated from the international surroundings," Abhisit said, adding that ASEAN could not afford to be complacent and could not afford to be inward-looking.
He said there were newly emerging challenges and threats which tend to be trans-national and trans-boundary in nature.
"The recent global financial crisis has, yet again, underscored the fact that no country in this region is immune to the expanding of global uncertainties, and therefore we must step up our cooperation," Abhisit said.
He added that later this year Thailand would convene the ASEAN Plus Three and Eas Asia Summits which would be another good opportunity for regional leaders to have open and extensive discussion on issues of common interest.
Abhisit concluded his address by emphasizing that ASEAN would continue moving forward and the best way forward was to continue more rapidly in its journey, with focus and determination, towards the goal of building an ASEAN Community.
"Only through a more integrated ASEAN can we be competitive globally. Only through a more integrated ASEAN can we withstand challenges, and only through a more integrated ASEAN can we ensure a better future for all our people," he said.