Cambodia hoists ASEAN flag to mark 45th ASEAN Day

Xinhua | 8th August 2012

By Agencies 

Cambodia, as the chair of 2012 ASEAN, on Wednesday hoisted the ASEAN flag adjacent to its national flag at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to mark the 45th commemoration of ASEAN Day.

The ceremony was presided over by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong with the participation by ambassadors and charge d' affairs of friendly countries to Cambodia.

Speaking at the event, Hor Namhong said that since its inception 45 years ago, ASEAN has recorded remarkable successes even though it has been passed through many difficult periods and challenges.

"With each challenge that it had faced, ASEAN always come out with a spirit of compromise. With the 45-year history of significant milestones and the rock-solid foundation of solidarity, ASEAN, in my view, shall prevail and overcome every adversity," he said.

The flag hoisting represented another significant step towards the ASEAN Community in 2015 even though there had been recently " an unexpected mishap," he said.

"However, Cambodia believes that ASEAN will continue to advance with the spirit of unity and solidarity, by setting aside issues we cannot yet reach consensus," he said. "By so doing, we will be able to maintain the ASEAN central role in the face of the present evolving regional architecture."

The minister also expressed his strong hope that ASEAN would remain on the right track towards realizing the ASEAN Community by 2015.

Founded on August 8, 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.