SINGAPORE: Singapore's Foreign Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, has said the East Asia Summit this year was a testament to ASEAN's resilience in mobilizing external partners for dialogue, especially at a time of global turmoil.

Foreign Minister Balakrishnan wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday night, 13 November, that he was pleased to see how ASEAN was expanding the depth of its external partnership.

“Glad that ASEAN is expanding the depth of our external partnerships,” he wrote. “We have elevated our dialogue relations with India and the US to Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships (CSPs). The CSPs will deepen cooperation in key areas, including economic integration, regional connectivity, digital transformation, and smart cities.”

“ASEAN will remain outward-looking and grow our partnerships for the continued peace, stability and prosperity of our region.”

The ASEAN Summit is a meeting between the leaders of the 10 ASEAN member states with external partners such as India, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, and the United States also regularly taking part.

Cambodia has just successfully concluded the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings on 13 November 2022. The Chairman of ASEAN in 2022, Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has stated that he believes the successful conclusion of this meeting will make Cambodia more prestigious in the world.