ASEAN and Australia have reaffirmed their shared commitment to boost their comprehensive partnership during the fourth meeting of the ASEAN-Australia Joint Cooperation Committee (AAJCC) concluded in Jakarta recently.

Participants discussed the preparations for the ASEAN-Australia Commemorative Summit scheduled for November 12 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar , to mark the 40 th anniversary of ASEAN-Australian dialogues.

They also talked about their joint goals for 2015-2019, with a focus on a Plan of Action for a number of areas, such as politics, economics, trade, tourism and education.

Australian Ambassador to ASEAN, Simon Merrifield, vowed to support the ASEAN Community building efforts and the bloc’s post-2015 vision.

Australia is ASEAN’s longest-standing dialogue partner. ASEAN, in turn, is Australia ’s second largest trade partner and sixth largest exporter.

Bilateral trade totalled 92.3 billion USD in 2013, double that of the previous decade.-VNA