VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union launched the EU-ASEAN Blue Book 2019 at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Thursday, August 8, 2019. The launch also commemorates the 52nd Anniversary of ASEAN and the 2nd ASEAN-EU Cooperation and Scholarship Day. In his remarks, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community, Kung Phoak, expressed his appreciation to the ASEAN dialogue partners, especially the European Union, who have provided economic support to ASEAN.

“Indeed for more than five decades, ASEAN has demonstrated our relevance to this region and the world. Most recently, our leaders have emphasized the importance of advancing partnership to achieve a truly people-centered, people-oriented, and forward-looking ASEAN community. Hence, such an ASEAN Community, however, is certainly not an easy task. To this end, I would like to express my appreciation to our Dialog Partners, particularly the European Union, for the economy support in helping us in entering the ASEAN Vision of an integrated stable and prosperous region,” said Kung Phoak.

Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community Affairs, Kung Phoak, further said the European Union was also very supportive of ASEAN's efforts to improve connectivity among people. This is reflected in the support of the European Union in providing scholarships at the tertiary level of education, student exchanges, and the development of educators' competencies. Blue Book 2019 ASEAN-European Union is an annual publication about EU cooperation with ASEAN. This book aims to introduce and increase knowledge about the results of cooperation between the European Union and ASEAN in the field of development and the benefits of student mobility within the ASEAN region and between the EU and ASEAN regions. (VOI / AHM)