ASEAN WELCOMES AMBASSADORS FROM PERU, CANADA

Jakarta, Nov. 7 (ANTARA) - The ASEAN Secretary-General here, Friday welcomed two more Ambassadors to ASEAN: the Peruvian Ambassador to ASEAN, Juan Alvarez Vita and the new Canadian Ambassador to ASEAN, Mackenzie Clugston.

Both Ambassadors are concurrently the Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste, according to information on the ASEAN website.

On receiving Ambassador Vita, Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretary General Dr Surin noted that Peru is the first Latin American country to have accredited an Ambassador to ASEAN.

Peru is a member of MERCOSUR (Southern Common Market), with which ASEAN is preparing a Region-to-Region Roadmap and Action Plan on mutually agreed areas of cooperation.

Ambassador Vita's appointment will open up more opportunities for ASEAN to cooperate closely not only with Peru but also MERCOSUR, said the Secretary-General.

Both ASEAN and MERCOSUR, had in late 2008, reached agreement on a coordinated approach to alleviate the negative impact of the global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Vita said that Peru is interested in establishing strong ties with ASEAN, considering the important roles that it plays in South East Asia in promoting peace and regional security, social justice, human rights and international trade.

When receiving Ambassador Clugston, Dr Surin Pitsuwan said, "I thank Canada for its continued support for ASEAN. The dialogue relations between ASEAN and Canada is certainly growing, both in the area of political-security and economy, and with Ambassador Clugston on board, ASEAN and Canada can advance on this already well-built relations."
Canada, a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN since 1977, cooperates with ASEAN under the ASEAN-Canada Joint Cooperation Work Plan (JCWP) 2007-2010, which aims to assist ASEAN in ASEAN community building efforts.

On the economic front, ASEAN and Canada are working towards the conclusion of the ASEAN-Canada Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) to enhance trade and investment relations.

"I am honoured to become Canada's representative to ASEAN at a time of increasing Canadian concentration in this important region. On the political as well as trade fronts, Canada and ASEAN have an active dialogue and share many common pursuits, and I look forward to helping strengthen this relationship during my time as Ambassador," said Ambassador Clugston.

Under the ASEAN Charter, non-ASEAN Member States and relevant inter-governmental organisations may appoint Ambassadors to ASEAN. So far, 27 countries and the European Commission have accredited their Ambassadors to ASEAN.