The flag of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was raised for the first time together with the national flag of Indonesia during a ceremony conducted at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Berlin on 08 August 2011 to commemorate the 44^th anniversary of ASEAN. As of this day, the ASEAN flag will be permanently hoisted together with the national flag of Indonesia. The two banners will also be raised at the Residence of the Ambassador. The ceremony was conducted amidst participation by the entire Embassy staff, the Dharma Wanita (association of the wives of the Indonesian civil servants), students and members of the Indonesian community in Berlin. The same ceremony was conducted simultaneously at nine other missions of ASEAN member states in Berlin.

Dr. Eddy Pratomo, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Federal Republic of Germany, stated in his speech that the joint raising of the ASEAN flag and the national flags of respective member countries was agreed upon by ASEAN foreign ministers during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Retreat at Lombok from 16-17 January 2011. During that meeting, the foreign ministers of the ten ASEAN countries agreed that the ASEAN flag and the respective national flags be hoisted together starting on the anniversary of ASEAN on 08 August 2011.

In a broader sense, Ambassador Pratomo continued, this decision demonstrates the resolve of ASEAN to further enhance the identity of ASEAN and to strengthen the notion of togetherness among the citizens of the member countries. It also serves as a precursor for the forthcoming creation of the ASEAN Community in 2015.

Using the same opportunity, Ambassador Pratomo elaborated on the promotional activities conducted by the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin in recent times both within the frameworks of the Berlin ASEAN Committee (BAC) and on its own account. Among the most prominent of these activities was first the meeting of ASEAN ambassadors with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Christian Wulff, in February of this year. The joint presentation by the Ambassador of Indonesia in Germany and the German Ambassador in Jakarta on the economic potentials of ASEAN in June during the seminar “Eastern Westphalia Meets ASEAN” held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Eastern Westphalia in Bielefeld followed. The seminar raises hope to stimulate cooperation especially with small and intermediate enterprises in the jurisdiction of CCI Eastern Westphalia and to promote one of the objectives of the Indonesian chairmanship of ASEAN which is to advance the small and intermediate enterprises of ASEAN members.

In the same context, the Indonesian Ambassador said that the Indonesian Embassy will conduct several events in the coming months to promote ASEAN to other stake holders, including Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and the Humboldt University.

The Indonesian chairmanship of ASEAN will support the member states to uphold their commitments towards the creation of the ASEAN Community in 2015. To underline this, the Indonesian Ambassador said the leitmotif of the Indonesian chairmanship of ASEAN is “ASEAN Community in the Global Community of Nations”. To realize this objective, the ASEAN member states must work closer together to face a number of regional and international challenges. In this vein, the Indonesian chairmanship this year will focus its attention on supporting the ASEAN efforts to enhance cooperation with regional and international organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union. Moreover, it will develop the ASEAN vision facing a number of global issues of common interest to ASEAN to enable it to device a more coordinated, defined and cohesive position.

In Asia, Indonesia will strive to increase the capacity of ASEAN in facing geopolitical developments in the region. ASEAN will assume a leading role in creating a regional order in which no country or power will be dominant and the countries will be related to each other in mutual benefit and respect. With the securing of peace and stability in the region, each ASEAN countries can concentrate on their own nation building efforts and economic development. The Indonesian Ambassador added that the stable, safe and peaceful environment will greatly contribute to the advancement of the national development of Indonesia.

Concluding his address, the Indonesian Ambassador expressed his hope that the raising of the ASEAN flag together with the respective national flags of member countries will strengthen the common ASEAN credo “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” in the consciousness of every citizens of ASEAN.

Berlin, 08 August 2011