ASEAN, U.S. celebrate ongoing partnership at USAID PROGRESS event

ASEAN, U.S. celebrate ongoing partnership at USAID PROGRESS event

Source:  ASEAN Secretariat News

JAKARTA, July 16 2018 – At an event marking a significant milestone of the United States – ASEAN development partnership, the U.S. Government and the ASEAN Secretariat reflected on the shared successes of the ASEAN-U.S. Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development and Security (PROGRESS) programme.

Jointly funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. State Department, PROGRESS has helped advance ASEAN’s vision of peaceful, stable and prosperous Southeast Asia since 2013. The programme collaborated with ASEAN to promote and protect human rights values; strengthen executive, legislative and judiciary networks and the rule of law; and advance science-based policy-making, among other activities.

“The success of PROGRESS demonstrates the strength of our partnership as well as our partners’ dedication to strengthening ASEAN institutions. We are thrilled to see so many people gathered together to reflect on the success of PROGRESS and look forward to continuing to build, through our ASEAN-U.S. Partnership for Regional Optimization within the Political-Security and Socio-Cultural Communities (PROSPECT) programme, a peaceful, integrated and prosperous Southeast Asia,” said U.S. Mission to ASEAN Chargé d’Affaires Piper Campbell.

“ASEAN – U.S. Dialogue relations have continued to grow and be strengthened, reaching tremendous heights manifested by the strong cooperation between ASEAN and the U.S., and culminating in the celebration of 40 years of ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue Relations last year. The elevation to a strategic partnership is a testament to the expansion and deepening of our relations,” H.E. Ambassador Dato’ Shariffah Norhana Syed Mustaffa, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN and Country Coordinator for ASEAN – U.S. Dialogue Relations highlighted in her remarks.

PROGRESS supported ASEAN to develop guidelines and procedures for helping human trafficking victims, especially women and children, and preventing the further spread of trafficking. The programme also strengthened ASEAN’s ability to respond effectively when disasters, such as tsunamis, strike within the region and brought together youth from all 10 ASEAN Member States to participate in engaging activities, such as filmmaking and citizen journalism contests, designed to strengthen a sense of a shared ASEAN identity.

“We greatly appreciate the assistance of PROGRESS provided to ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat, particularly in the area of combating trafficking in persons, assisting in implementing projects of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, and introducing a platform to support ASEAN in continuing its efforts towards a rules-based community,” said H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, the Secretary-General of ASEAN.

ASEAN-U.S. PROGRESS is one of the many U.S. initiatives that support ASEAN and its Member States. The United States partners with ASEAN to support economic integration, expand maritime cooperation, cultivate emerging leaders, promote opportunity for women and address transnational challenges. Through USAID’s cooperation with ASEAN, the United States addresses the root causes of poverty and instability while strengthening the foundation for prosperity and security. The United States and ASEAN celebrated 40 years of partnership in 2017.

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For more information about U.S. assistance to ASEAN, visit https://asean.usmission.gov/ or contact USAID Development Outreach and
Communications Specialist Swiny Andina at sandina@usaid.gov.

For more information about the ASEAN Secretariat, contact Community Relations
Division Media Officer Andreas D. Arditya at andreas.arditya@asean.org