Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said that despite the current unpredictable global climate, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must not be deterred from preparing for the future.
“Together we have dared to envision what ASEAN could become by 2045. That kind of long-term vision does not only take strategy, it takes hardship where the only thing that is predictable is unpredictability.
“And yes, I’ve heard people say, ‘why plan for 20 years from now, when even planning the next two weeks is difficult in the current global climate?’ But just because we can’t forecast the weather, it doesn’t mean we stop carrying an umbrella.
“Planning is not about certainty, it is about preparedness and ASEAN is preparing for the future,” he said in his speech at the gala dinner held in conjunction with the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
Mohamad also acknowledged that Timor-Leste’s accession as ASEAN’s 11th member is drawing closer, noting that the bloc’s circle is expanding and its outlook growing brighter.
“Indeed, our circle is expanding as ASEAN makes friends well beyond our region,” he said.