(VOVworld) - The ASEAN Pretoria Committee (APC) celebrated the 49th founding anniversary of ASEAN in Pretoria, South Africa on Thursday. 

The celebration of the 49th year of ASEAN takes place in Pretoria, South Africa, on August 4 with seven ASEAN ambassadors in attendance. (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

The celebration was jointly hosted by the embassies of Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. In his remarks at the event, Thai Ambassador Pornchai Danvivathana, who is also Chair of the APC, briefed guests on ASEAN’s development over the past five decades. He said ASEAN plays a central role in addressing regional security issues, notably in the East Sea, by pursuing peaceful resolutions in accordance with international law. Danvivathana hailed the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community last year as an important milestone for regional connectivity that shows ASEAN’s commitment to building a common market of more than 620 million people. He praised multi-faceted cooperation between ASEAN and South Africa, with two-way trade reaching more than 7.7 billion USD. The APC Chairman said that ASEAN wants to develop relations with South Africa and its neighbors with a focus on trade, investment, and sharing development experience.