Speech of H.E. Pg Kamal Bashah, High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam to Pakistan on ASEAN Day 2024

Our esteemed Chief Guest, His Excellency Mussadiq Malik, Minister Petroleum His Excellency Ambassador Atadjan the Dean of the Diplomatic Corp, fellow ASEAN Heads of Missions, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Assalamualaikum, Good evening and Welcome to tonight’s 57th ASEAN Day celebration

Once and foremost I on behalf of the members of the ASEAN Committee in Islamabad have the honour of extending our heartfelt and profound appreciation to our Guest of Honour His Excellency Mussadiq Malik, Minister Petroleum, for being with us and to grace this special occasion tonight. This annual celebration stands as a testament of our collective achievements based on our shared vision for a united and prosperous Southeast Asia.

This year’s theme, “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience,” is particularly timely and significant as we try to navigate ourselves within the complexities of this modern world. Today, we have undoubtedly been facing numerous global challenges, including the aftermath of the pandemic, regional conflicts, economic uncertainties, and the urgent need of combating the climate change phenomena. In these challenging times, regional organization like ASEAN will continue to play a crucial role in fostering multilateral cooperation in the effort of effectively addressing these issues.

Since its establishment on 8 August 1967, ASEAN has been a cornerstone of regional stability and growth. With a combined population of over 690 million people and a combined GDP surpassing 3.6 trillion USD, ASEAN has emerged as one of the significant political and economic player in the global stage.

ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be known, is a regional organization which currently comprising of the ten member states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. We have also recently been welcoming Timor-Leste to be our ASEAN member as they have now been conducting their intensified efforts in implementing the roadmap criteria towards their full membership.

Our commitment to dialogue, consultation, and cooperation based on the ASEAN Way principle, has been instrumental in maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. This was particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when ASEAN’s coordinated efforts were vital in mitigating the virus’s socio-economic impacts.

We take pride in our progress towards the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, which encompasses political-security, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions. This vision underscores our cooperation in critical areas such as defense, counterterrorism, peacekeeping, economic integration, climate action, and disaster risk reduction.

The partnership between ASEAN and Pakistan is rich in history and continues to flourish, grounded in mutual respect and shared goals. Since Pakistan was accorded sectoral dialogue status with ASEAN in 1993, our cooperation has expanded across numerous sectors, including trade, investment, science and technology, environment, tourism, and human resources development.

This relationship can be seen in many different forms over the years, including Pakistan’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in 2004 and the establishment of the ASEAN-Pakistan Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee (AP-JSCC) which has been instrumental in enhancing our collaboration.

Adding to this, just earlier this year, we also welcomed the adoption of the Practical Cooperation Areas between ASEAN and Pakistan for the period of 2024 – 2028, which we are confident will be an instrumental overall framework to advance ASEANPakistan cooperation over the next four years.

On trade and investment, our preliminary data indicated that the total two-way trade between ASEAN and Pakistan is growing admirably, rising from USD 10.22 billion in 2021 to USD 10.62 billion in 2022, amounting to about 3.84% increase for that period. These numbers are expected to continue to rise, particularly as ASEAN is also projecting an economic growth of 4.6% in 2024 and 4.7% in 2025 respectively.

The ASEAN tourism industry is a vital economic sector for many nations in the region, is anticipated to continue for its recovery in 2024 as international tourism flows normalize towards pre-pandemic levels across Southeast Asia. This positive trend has been reflected in the number of Pakistani tourists visiting ASEAN countries, which had surged to approximately 131,000 in 2022, marking a more than 50% increase from the 2021 figure of around 5,100.

Excellencies, distinguished guests,

As we celebrate ASEAN’s 57th anniversary, allow us this opportunity to reaffirm our dedication toward peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. In closing, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude once again to our esteemed Chief Guest, [His Excellency Mussadiq Malik], for your unwavering support and being presence today.

I also wish to thank my fellow ASEAN Heads of Missions, ACI Committee members, Serena Hotel, participants, and all those who have contributed to making this event into a reality. Your efforts are deeply appreciated and May Allah al-mighty give you all the right return.

With these sentiments, I wish you all a very Happy ASEAN Day.

Terima kasih, shukriya, thank you, and enjoy the rest of evening.