Short Remarks By SMS Zainul Abidin Rasheed At The Asean 40th Anniversary Gala Night Dinner At Hotel New Otani, Tokyo Japan On 6 August 2007

Your Imperial Highnesses

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

ASEAN has come a long way in the last 40 years. From the original five members, we now have ten. Our economies have improved tremendously, and at the same time, more intertwined and interdependent. With greater ease of travel, our people interact more and understand one another better. We are optimistic about our future. On this high note, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary.

But more importantly, ASEAN has found a true friend in Japan in the last 40 years. The Fukuda Doctrine laid a good foundation for cooperation between us. In good times and bad, Japan has also shown that it is always willing to lend a helping hand. Many of you here today will remember how the New Miyazawa Initiative has helped ASEAN recover from the financial crisis of 1997. In 2005, when the disastrous tsunami struck, Japan was also there as a friend to help. Today, ASEAN-Japan economic relations remain strong and robust. Trade between ASEAN and Japan exceeded US$150 billion in 2005. Japan is also one of ASEAN's top investors with investments worth US$3.16 billion in 2005.

I believe the ASEAN-Japan Economic Relations Symposium today has surfaced many more ideas on how ASEAN and Japan could further deepen our economic ties. Hopefully, some of these ideas would be realised in the near future and help advance our relations to an even higher level. In this rapidly changing world, strong economic ties between ASEAN and Japan will only serve to bring about more prosperity for our people. As ASEAN Chair this year, Singapore looks forward to working closely with Japan to further this strong and meaningful relationship.

I wish you an enjoyable evening.

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