By Raynald C Rivera

DOHA: Bolstering public awareness of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and promoting trade and cooperation between Asean members and Qatar are the key areas the Asean Committee and Doha (ACD) will work on.

This was emphasised at the Asean Day flag-raising ceremony held yesterday at Singapore Embassy here which marked the 49th Asean founding anniversary and saw the handover of ACD chairmanship from Singapore Ambassador Wong Kwok Pun to Philippine Ambassador Wilfredo C Santos.

While congratulating Wong";s able leadership as ACD chairman, Santos vowed to continue building on the outgoing chairman";s innovative initiatives.

'Aside from the usual activities that fostered sportsmanship and camaraderie among Asean embassies, Ambassador Wong";s stewardship saw the group pursue activities such as the Joint Asean-Qatar Chamber Business Forum that complemented each embassy";s bilateral economic initiatives, as well as invited speakers that jump started lively discussions on some interesting topics,” said Santos.

He revealed other initiatives he wanted to pursue during his one-year term including initiating discussions with the academe to achieve greater appreciation of Asean and active engagement with Qatar and GCC towards enhancing trade relations among other areas stressing Asean as a big market.

'Asean today is the 7th largest economy in the world with a combined GDP of US$2.6 trillion. It is the 3rd largest market with a population of 622 million. In 2014, it attracted US$136bn of foreign direct investment,” said Wong.

Formed on August 8, 1967, Asean comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Wong underscored the achievements of Asean";s establishment: 'Foes have become friends and partners in development. We share a common desire for peace, security, stability and prosperity. People-to-people linkages have increased, bringing the region closer together. More importantly, regional stability and rapid economic progress in Asean has improved the lives of its peoples and attracted worldwide attention and investors.”

Other milestones Wong mentioned were the Asean Charter which is a legally binding document that provides the legal foundation and institutional framework for the building of the Asean Community, and the Asean 2025: Forging Ahead Together document, setting out the work for the next 10 years in building an Asean Community.

As his term will coincide with the Philippines"; Asean chairmanship next year, Santos said he was instructed by the Philippines"; Department of Foreign Affairs to organise activities that promote Asean awareness in Qatar as well as highlight each country";s role in Asean and its community-building efforts.

'Such community-building objective has become more crucial as the Asean faces extraordinary and existential challenges in the region that threatens the organisation";s unity and solidarity. It is therefore imperative that we strengthen the commonalities that bind us, while also celebrating diversity and respecting each other";s differences,” stressed Santos.

All the ambassadors of Asean member countries in Doha were present at the gathering including Brunei Ambassador Haji Nordin Bin Haji Ahmad, Malaysian Ambassador Dato Ahmad Jazri Mohd Johar, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hoang, Indonesian Ambassador Muhammad Basri Sidehabi and Thai Ambassador Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum in addition to prominent community leaders.

The Peninsula