The United States (US) always attaches special importance to itsrelations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) andhopes the group will enjoy a stronger development in the future.

The newly-accredited US Ambassador to ASEAN, Nina Hachigian made thestatement when she presented her credentials to ASEAN SecretaryGeneral Le Luong Minh in Jakarta, Indonesia on November 3.

Hachigian affirmed that she is willing to work closely with ASEANSecretariat and its member nations in a series of cooperationprogrammes, including the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative(YSEALI) and climate change.

Minh appreciated the US’s strongengagement to the Asian Pacific region, stressing that the growingrelations between ASEAN and the US contributes significantly to creatinga favourable environment for promoting peace, stability and developmentin the region.

The two officials shared the hope that theupcoming US-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit will help further thebilateral relations.

The US became an ASEAN’s dialogue partnerin 1977. The ASEAN, founded on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailandcomprises 10 members namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA