Exhibition - “ASEAN: Resilient and Innovative”

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen:

A warm welcome to today’s opening of the exhibition “ASEAN: Resilient and Innovative”. We are grateful to the Permanent Missions of the ASEAN Member States for bringing this exhibition to the Palais. I would like to particularly thank the Permanent Mission of Singapore for coordinating this joint initiative.

As a region with more than 630 million people, fast-growing economies, and a strategic location along vital trade routes, the 10 nations of ASEAN are critical to peace and prosperity not only in the Asia Pacific but to the world.

Yet just as there are incredible opportunities for further progress, the region also faces big risks. And perhaps none greater than the threat of climate change, which is dramatically exemplified by increasingly severe weather events.

Disaster risk reduction is a frontline defence against the impact of climate change. Today’s exhibition spotlights how ASEAN is leading the charge. It drives home the key point that transnational challenges cannot be met by any one nation alone. The only appropriate response is multilateralism and regional integration.

That is why the strong partnership between the UN and ASEAN is so important. The scope of our shared ambition may be global, but actual implementation happens on the ground - and regional organisations like ASEAN are the bridge linking the global and the local. At their best, they can be more agile than global peers, but still retain the power that only multilateral alliances can muster. And that is why, ultimately, our work is complimentary and mutually reinforcing.

As one of the most diverse regions in the world, ASEAN can be a leader in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. And not just by putting the SDGs into practice, but by sharing best practices. I think I’m speaking for everyone in International Geneva when I say that you will always find a receptive audience here.

Thank you and I wish you every success.