00:00In Malaysia, but also in ASEAN. I would like to thank you.
00:17We have now entered the final stage of our chairmanship.
00:23In just over four months, we will pass the mental responsibility
00:27to my friend, President Bobo Marcos of the Philippines.
00:32Yet much remains to be done in this closing phase,
00:36particularly in the lead-up to the 47th ASEAN Summit
00:41and related summits in October.
00:45We now stand at the threshold of the culmination point.
00:51What we do in the month ahead will decide how history judges us,
00:57our year at the helm.
00:59For in the final week of October,
01:02our aim is as audacious as it is consequential
01:07to deliver ASEAN's largest and most high-profile gathering of world leaders to date.
01:19It will be a veritable assembly of the world's principal centers of power and influence.
01:25We look forward to welcoming the heads of governments of ASEAN and our dialogue partners,
01:31including United States President Donald Trump and I believe President Xi Jinping of China.
01:40In addition, we have received positive indications of attendance from Brazilian President Lula da Silva
01:49and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who currently holds the BRICS and the G20 presidencies respectively.
02:00But securing their presidency is only the first step.
02:03The greater test is to ensure that they leave Malaysia and ASEAN feeling that time was well spent.
02:13We must ensure that their visit yields results of lasting value.
02:18The eyes of the world will be upon us.
02:22We must therefore rise to the occasion.
02:25Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
02:28Anniversaries are moments to take stock,
02:32to reassess,
02:34to reflect on how far we have come
02:38and the journey still ahead.
02:41And I dare say without the least overstatement
02:46that the founders of ASEAN will look to our progress with pride.
02:51But we would be mistaken to think that we have outgrown the motivations and concerns
02:58of those who signed the Bangkok Declaration in 1967.
03:03One of the key issues to be deliberated in October would be the economy,
03:09inter-ASEAN trade, cross-border investments,
03:15energy greed, and connectivity.
03:19So, thank you.
03:20Wassalamualaikum.
03:22Thank you, Yang Amma Behormat Prime Minister.
Comments