Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese ambassador and Chairman of the ASEAN Canberra Committee, Hoang Vinh Thanh, stressed that, since its establishment 1967, ASEAN has come a long way and is now a successful association widely recognised by the international community as a vital factor in maintaining peace, stability and development in the region.

Under the 2011 ASEAN Chairmanship country’s theme, ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations, the association has boosted socio-economic and cultural development within the region while maintaining and extending relations and cooperation with its many international and regional partners and organisations. Its central role has also been strengthened and widely accepted by many countries across the globe, he added.

The ambassador also said that the flag raising ceremony in Canberra symbolises the cooperation, union and solidarity among ASEAN countries and the comprehensive cooperation between ASEAN and Australia.

Australian Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the country’s first ASEAN ambassador, Gillian Bird, expressed her delight at attending the event, which marks the 44^th anniversary of ASEAN.

She congratulated ASEAN on its achievements in the past years and said that the association is a successful model for maintaining regional security and prosperity.

Two-way trade turnover between ASEAN nations and Australia has increased from AUD850 million in 1974 to AUD64.5 billion in 2010.

Education is Australia’s largest export service to ASEAN and 109,000 students from ASEAN member countries studied in Australia last year.

Australia became ASEAN’s first dialog country in 1974 and the two sides signed a Joint Declaration on the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Partnership in 2007. They have also drawn up an action plan for implementing the declaration in the 2008-2013 period in fields such as politics, security, economics, culture, society and development.

The ASEN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) ratified in February 2009 is the most comprehensive FTA ASEAN has ever signed and will cover a total population of more than 600 million and a GDP of nearly AUD3.1 trillion.