Celebrating the 56th Anniversary of ASEAN Founding Day in Morocco

On August 8, to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Vietnamese Embassy in Morocco co-chaired with the ASEAN Committee in the capital Rabat to solemnly organize the ASEAN flag-raising ceremony.

The ceremony took place in a solemn atmosphere with the participation of Mr. Fouad Yazourh, Director General in charge of bilateral and regional relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad; Mr. Mostapha El Ktiri, High Commissioner for Resistance Fighters and Veterans of the Kingdom of Morocco, President of the Morocco-Vietnam Friendship Association; Ambassadors of ASEAN's partner and dialogue countries in Rabat; representatives of ministries, sectors, and many friends and partners of Vietnam and ASEAN countries in Morocco.

Ambassador Dang Thi Thu Ha welcomed delegates attending the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Morocco and Chairwoman of the ASEAN Committee in Rabat Dang Thi Thu Ha emphasized that the establishment of ASEAN 56 years ago marked an important milestone in regional cooperation in Southeast Asia, creating a premise for the process of building a strong and cohesive ASEAN community today.

After 56 years of formation and development, ASEAN now brings together 10 dynamically developing Southeast Asian countries, with extensive cooperation in many fields: politics, security, economy, culture, society...; plays a central role in the regional cooperation structure, contributing significantly to consolidating and promoting peace, stability and cooperation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Ambassador Dang Thi Thu Ha delivered the opening speech at the ASEAN flag-raising ceremony.

Ambassador Dang Thi Thu Ha also reviewed the achievements in the relationship between ASEAN and Morocco in recent times, especially Morocco's participation in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in 2016, becoming an Observer of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPA) in 2020, an Associate Member of the Association of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education (SEAMEO) in 2021... and expressed her belief that the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between ASEAN and Morocco will continue to develop increasingly strongly, for the practical benefits of the people of ASEAN countries and Morocco.

Mr. Fouad Yazourh, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, delivered a welcome speech.

Mr. Fouad Yazourh, Director General for Bilateral and Regional Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad congratulated and appreciated the achievements of ASEAN as well as in ASEAN-Morocco relations, welcomed and thanked ASEAN for agreeing in principle in July 2023 to Morocco's proposal to become a dialogue partner of ASEAN.

Mr. Fouad Yazourh also reviewed the current strong areas of cooperation between Vietnam and Morocco such as parliamentary cooperation, education, tourism, economy, trade, etc. and affirmed that Morocco's relations with Vietnam and ASEAN still have a lot of potential. Morocco becoming a Dialogue Partner in the field demonstrates Morocco's commitment to closer ties with ASEAN countries, together bringing the cooperative relationship to a new level.