US Vice President Kamala Harris at the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia (Photo: https://www.upi.com/) Washington D.C (VNA) – A US – ASEAN Centre will be established in Washington, D.C as part of efforts to deepen relations between the US and the regional grouping, especially in economic cooperation, the US Department of State announced on September 7.
The centre will further institutionalise and deepen the relationship between the US and ASEAN, while bolstering support for US economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia, the department said.
Its activities will be aimed at supporting joint efforts of the two sides to promote an open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure region.
The plan was announced in the context that US Vice President Kamala Harris attended the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
According to Harris, the US is reviewing ongoing efforts to promote broad-based prosperity through investing in high-quality and sustainable infrastructure, accelerating the energy transition, and developing secure and resilient supply chains.
In its announcement, the US Department of State said the US is the largest investor in ASEAN among the group’s partner countries, and the two-way trade reached a record of 520.3 billion USD in 2022./.
