Berne, 13 September 2017. The ASEAN Committee in Berne (ACB) was officially inaugurated on 13 September 2017 during the welcome dinner for ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Le Luong Minh hosted by the Heads of Mission from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) accredited to the Swiss Confederation.
Ambassador Joselito A. Jimeno reads the Formal Endorsement of the Establishment of ASEAN Committee in Berne signed by
the ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Le Luong Minh
In a simple ceremony, Philippine Ambassador Joselito A. Jimeno read the letter by ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Le Luong Minh to the ASEAN Ambassadors to Switzerland informing the group of the approval by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers of the establishment of the ACB. The inauguration of the ACB was also witnessed by officials from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs led by Ambassador Johannes Matyassy, Head of the Asia Pacific Division.
The establishment of the ACB comes on the occasion of the 50th Founding Anniversary of ASEAN, which coincides with the Philippine chairmanship of the association and the 1st-year Anniversary of Switzerland as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN.
The establishment of the ACB is one of the major landmarks in ASEAN-Switzerland relations, which include the establishment in 2014 of the ASEAN-Switzerland Parliamentary Group, also under the Philippine coordinatorship.
The visit of ASEAN Secretary-General Minh to Switzerland is also the first visit to be conducted by an incumbent ASEAN Secretary-General.
Swiss Foreign Minister Burkhalter with ASEAN Secretary-General Mihn
and the ASEAN Representatives to Switzerland linking arms for the ASEAN handshake
Before the welcome dinner, ASEAN Secretary-General Minh was received by Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for a tête-à-tête. They were joined later by the ASEAN representatives to Switzerland. END
