ASEAN and Canada celebrated the 35 th anniversary of their dialogue partnership at the ASEAN Secretariat Headquarters in Jakarta , Indonesia , on Jan. 20.

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan recalled cooperation between the two sides during the past 35 years, saying they shared common concerns, including international terrorism, climate change, rescue and disaster mitigation, protection of the rights of women and children, disarmament and cooperation in other areas.

The two sides saw development in economic trade, investment, tourism and socio-cultural cooperation. Canada is ASEAN’s 13 th largest trading partner, with two-way trade of 9.8 billion USD, and ranks ninth in terms of investment in ASEAN with 1.6 billion USD.

Canadian Ambassador Mackenzie Clugston affirmed Canada ’s stance of support for an ASEAN of peace, security, stability, freedom, democracy and development.

Canada will continue its traditional friendship and cooperation with ASEAN, he said.

On this occasion, the two sides launched a three-year ASEAN-Canada study cooperation programme. The Canadian government-funded 1 million CAD programme will study sustainable development, natural resource management and the impact of population and disease trends./.