"As we were reminded again by the attack in Jakarta last month, the scourge of terrorism demands that we stay vigilant, share more information, and work cooperatively to protect our people," Obama stated in his remarks at the opening session of the US-ASEAN Summit, here, Monday afternoon.
He said the United States and ASEAN can together also continue to intensify security cooperation to meet shared challenges.
"Finally, together, we can continue to do more around the world to meet transnational challenges that no one nation can meet alone," he affirmed.
The US-ASEAN Summit is the first ever to be hosted by the United States.
"This reflects my personal commitment and the national commitment of the United States to a strong and enduring partnership with your 10 nations individually and to Southeast Asia as one region, as one community -- ASEAN," he remarked.
Obama expressed pride to be the first US president to meet leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries, and this summit marks their seventh meeting.
At the start of his speech, Obama claimed to be familiar with the ASEAN member countries.
"As everyone knows, I first came to know the people, the beauty, and the strength of Southeast Asia as a boy when I lived for several years with my mother in Indonesia. As president, I have had the opportunity to visit most of your countries," he noted.
During the summit, President Joko Widodo will focus on strengthening cooperation in counterterrorism and de-radicalism.
Besides this, Indonesia will also exchange views on the regional architecture.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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