U.S.-ASEAN Center To Be Established In Washington

A U.S.-ASEAN Center will be established in Washington, D.C. through a public-private partnership.

This was decided by the leaders of ASEAN and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the 2023 U.S.-ASEAN Summit held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The State Department said it has established a public-private partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) to launch the Center. The Center will further institutionalize and deepen the relationship between the United States and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) while bolstering support for U.S. economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia.

Since the establishment of the dialogue partnership in 1977, ASEAN and the United States have built extensive cooperation in various areas under the political-security, economy, and socio-cultural pillars.

The United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia, and more than 6,200 U.S. businesses have contributed to a record $520.3 billion in total trade between the United States and the nations of ASEAN in 2022, creating 625,000 jobs in all 50 states, and 1 million jobs throughout Southeast Asia.

The close partnership between ASEAN and the United States is also reflected in the increasing people-to-people engagements, as well as the growing number of students from ASEAN countries in the United States.

Center activities will be aimed at supporting the United States’ and ASEAN’s joint efforts to promote an open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure region, according to a spokesperson for the State Department.

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