We dare to dream, we care to share, together for ASEAN
By Roy Lie Atjam
The Indonesian Ambassador’s residence, Wismar Duta, hosted the 56th anniversary of ASEAN. The celebration began with the hoisting of the ASEAN flag followed by a stunning performance by students from Sekolah Indonesia Den Haag -SIDH.
Indonesia successfully hosted the celebration of the 56th Anniversary of ASEAN (ASEAN Day) on 8 August 2023 at the Ambassador’s Residence in Wassenaar. Indonesia is currently the Chair of the ASEAN Committee in The Hague (ACTH) for the second semester of 2023.
The event began with the ASEAN flag raising ceremony by the Flag Raising Troop of the Indonesian School in The Hague (SIDH) accompanied by the ASEAN Anthem, followed by remarks by the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Mayerfas, and the Director for Asia and Oceania of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, H.E. Ambassador Karin Mössenlechner.
Ambassador Mayerfas said that ASEAN is the most successful and peaceful regional organization in the world despite its diversity and various challenges both internally and externally. Ambassador Mayerfas encouraged ASEAN Dialogue Partners and external parties to continue working together in creating a peaceful, stable, resilient, and prosperous region, and to be optimistic that ASEAN would become the world’s major economic power in 2045.
The event was also enlivened by cultural performances and special dishes from each ACTH country. Indonesia presented an angklung performance of Michael Jackson’s Heal The World and a folk song, Rek Ayo Rek.
ASEAN Day was attended by around 150 invitees, consisting of ASEAN Ambassadors accredited to the Netherlands and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) both based in the Netherlands and Belgium, Ambassadors and representatives of ASEAN Dialogue Partners based in the Netherlands, representatives of international organizations based in the Netherlands, representatives of diaspora from each ACTH country who reside in the Netherlands, and Embassy officials of each ACTH country.
ASEAN Matters, Epicentrum of Growth !
