Singapore welcomes US assurance that AUKUS supports ASEAN centrality: PM
Singapore welcomes the US's assurance that its recent trilateral defence pact with Australia and the United Kingdom (AUKUS) will support ASEAN centrality and contribute to regional peace and stability, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told the virtual ASEAN-US Summit on October 26.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Singapore (VNA) - Singapore welcomes the US's assurance that itsrecent trilateral defence pact with Australia and the United Kingdom (AUKUS)will support ASEAN centrality and contribute to regional peace and stability,Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told the virtual ASEAN-US Summit onOctober 26.
He also welcomed the US's announcement of 102 million USD innew initiatives to expand its partnership with ASEAN, with the funds going intohealth, climate, economic and education programmes.
PM Lee noted that the US was ASEAN’s largest source offoreign direct investment last year, with investments amounting to nearly 35billion USD.
The US has also delivered over 30 million doses of COVID-19vaccines to the region, contributed 500,000 USD to an ASEAN pandemic responsefund, and established the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention'sSouth-east Asia regional office in Hanoi.
He suggested ASEAN and the US expand partnership tonon-traditional domains, including digital infrastructure, cyber security andclimate change.
With the bloc’s digital economy projected to reach 200billion USD by 2025, the time is ripe for a technological revolution, withpromising opportunities for both US and regional companies to work together toride the wave, Lee stressed./.
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Singaporean Multi-Ministry Taskforce has required workers to be fully vaccinated to return to the workplace, while the vaccine produced by China's Sinovac has been added to Singapore's COVID-19 national vaccination programme
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on relevant parties to soon ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to contribute to the region’s post-pandemic economic recovery while addressing the 38th ASEAN Summit on October 26.
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The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
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Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
