1st ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting Underlines Important Role of ASEAN

ASEAN Secretariat, 15 November 2009 The historic first ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting, in recognition of ASEAN’s growing capacity and role in global issues, concluded in agreement today on the importance of continuing dialogue at the highest level between the two sides.

The United States will support ASEAN's continuing role in multilateral efforts where ASEAN has a growing ability to make contributions, the Leaders said in a Joint Statement released after the meeting. “The President of the United States also supported regional efforts initiated by ASEAN and ASEAN-led fora, to address the impact of the global financial and economic crisis in the region and looked forward to continued close coordination between such regional efforts and the global efforts undertaken by the G-20,” they went on to say. [read more]