10 August

Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin arrived back yesterday afternoon after attending Inauguration Ceremony of new ASEAN Secretariat building held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 8 August 2019 at the invitation of Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

The inauguration Ceremony was held on 8 August at Nusantara Hall of the new building and officiated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The Ceremony started at 8 am with opening remarks by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. Secretary General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi and current ASEAN Chair and Foreign Minister of Thailand Don Pramudwinai also made their remarks followed by a keynote speech from President Joko Widodo. Then, the President signed the inauguration Plaque of the new secretariat building and handed over Symbolic Key to the Secretary General of ASEAN.

The Union Minister also attended the opening of new ASEAN Gallery together with other ASEAN Foreign Ministers and handed over one Myanmar traditional lacquerware to be displaced at the ASEAN Gallery to the Secretary General of ASEAN.

Then, the Union Minister joined celebration of the 52nd Anniversary of the founding of ASEAN at Nusantara Hall of the new building. Following a welcoming remarks by the Secretary General of ASEAN at the celebration, all ASEAN Foreign Ministers conducted a Placement of Time Capsule that contains all ASEAN Leaders’ hopes and expectations for ASEAN on its 75th anniversary in the year 2042. The Time Capsule will be opened in 2042 and the messages will be read on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN.

The first ASEAN Secretariat building in Jakarta was officiated by President Soeharto in 1981. The new Secretariat building comprises two 16-storey towers with a total of 30 meeting rooms and it will accommodate more ASEAN Meetings in the future.— MNA