ASEAN community meets in Dubai for future cooperation
The heads of missions of five ASEAN countries based in Dubai met in a networking event for the first time with leaders of their communities on August 22 to discuss future areas of collaboration and cooperation from the Middle East to their home countries. ASEAN was established in August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, by five countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Five more countries joined later — Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. “The key is once we get all the ASEAN nationals network with each other very closely, then we can open up doors for future possible cooperation. This is just the beginning of a more collaborative and coordinated action among the five ASEAN communities,” Cortes said. The association was formed to accelerate the region’s economic growth, social progress and cultural development through joint endeavours as well as to promote regional peace and stability.