The European Union (EU) on Monday congratulated the entry into force of the Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), calling it an important day for the regional bloc on its path to create a rule-based organization and the ASEAN Community for the benefit of all its people.
"The ASEAN is becoming a center of gravity in Southeast Asia. The ASEAN Charter will provide a framework that will enable the organization to better address today's challenges and assume responsibilities to enhance peace, security and stability, as well as economic growth, and to promote the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in the region," said EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana in a statement.
The EU's French presidency issued a similar statement on Monday, saying that the Charter will help deepen economic and trade relations within ASEAN and contribute to regional peace and prosperity.
"This renewed framework will also enable ASEAN to play a greater political role and further assert itself in the region," said the statement.
Meanwhile, the EU presidency also said that the Charter will promote relations between the EU and ASEAN both economically and politically, adding that the EU and several member states have already announced their intention to accredit ambassadors to the ASEAN General Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Earlier on Monday, the ASEAN Charter was formalized in Jakarta during the bloc's foreign ministers' meeting.
ASEAN signed the charter in November 2007, which sets out rules of membership, aiming to transform ASEAN into a legal entity in the region by 2015.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Thailand holds the current rotating chairmanship.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article