THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations continued to develop during the year under review, gaining steadily in economic strength, political cohesion and international recognition.

Despite the difficulties arising from the worldwide recession, ASEAN sustained the highest economic growth rate of any region in the world. It has intensified and accelerated its programme of cooperation which has substantially contributed to the stability and prosperity of the ASEAN region, enhancing at the same time the political solidarity of its own member countries. The highlights of ASEAN's considerable progress in regional cooperation in the fields of trade and industry, energy, food, agriculture and forestry, finance and banking, transport and communications, as well as in the areas of social development, information and coltural exchanges, and science and technology, are recounted in the relevant sections of this Report.

ASEAN cooperation with its dialogue or third country partners has been intensified, at governmental as well as private sector levels.

The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and the European Community met in London on 13-14 October 1981 and exchanged views on international issues of mutual concern. They reaffirmed their'commitment at their previous Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur to world peace, international cooperation and understanding, economic development, social justice and human rights, and the principles of the United Nations Charter.

The London meeting was followed by intensive discussions of ASEAN-EEC economic projects with the EEC Commission in Brussels.

The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and of Canada signed a Cooperation Agreement in New York on September 25, 1981 along the lines of a similar agreement signed earlier with the EEC.

ASEAN's economic cooperation with its other dialgue partners - the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand - was likewise intensified.

At the same time, ASEAN continued to develop its links with other like-minded regional organizations: the South Pacific Forum, through its Bureau for Economic Cooperation (SPEC), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

A new link has been initiated with the Gulf Cooperation Council based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Secretary General of the Council plans to visit the ASEAN Secretariat soon to explore the possibilities of establishing a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship with ASEAN.

Non-dialogue countries have also shown growing interest in ASEAN. The President of South Korea visited the ASEAN capitals in June 1981 and called for an expansion of economic relations.

Nigeria, an important country in West Africa and a member of OPECC, is strengthening its diplomatic representation in the ASEAN region.

Sri Lanka, a South Asian nation, submitted a formal application for membership in ASEAN. At the same time, several other countries have inquired about the possibilities of initiating cooperative relations with ASEAN.

In view of these developments, ASEAN Senior Officials have undertaken to formulate guidelines on the establishment and conduct of future dialogues, the designation of third countries as "observers" in Ministerial Meetings, and the acceptance of new members, for the consideration of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers.

ASEAN's review of its own structure is also being intensified, with the aim of enhancing its efficiency in coping with its expanding activities. The Task Force on the Strengthening of the ASEAN Secretariat has held three meetings, considering in depth the question of enabling the Secretariat to function effectively as part of a growing organization.

WITH REGARD to the continued Vietnamese occupation of Kampuchea, ASEAN has stood firm in its commitment to the principles of the UN Charter and welcomed the reconfirmation of the seat of the legitimate government of Democratic Kampuchea by the 1981 UN General Assembly.

At the initiative of ASEAN, the UN convened an International Conference on Kampuchea in July 1981 and, at its 36th session of the General Assembly in October 1981, endorsed the Declaration and Resolution of the said Conference. The Declaration provided the basis for negotiations among the parties concerned in order to bring about, inter alia, the withdrawal of foreign forces from Kampuchea, and the UN-supervised elections so as to restore Kampuchea as an independent and sovereign state, free from any external threat or armed aggression. The Resolution, inter alia, established an Ad Hoc Committee of the Conference to assist in the search for a solution to the Kampuchean problem.

At their meeting in London, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and the European Community deplored the continued presence of Vietnamese forces in Kampuchea and Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

Contacts between the leaders and officials of ASEAN and the dialogue partners have further deepened their mutual understanding especially as it related to ASEAN's position and continuing efforts to achieve a political settlement in Kampuchea within the framework of the UN Resolutions

In September 1981, Singapore was the venue for a meeting of the leaders of the three major Kampuchean nationalist groups. The three leaders expressed their intent to form a coalition government committed to the liberation of Kampuchea and the holding of free elections to enable the Kampuchean people to freely determine their own future. As an aspect of its continuing search for a political solution to the Kampuchean problem, ASEAN has rendered its support to the on-going efforts of the three Kampuchean nationalist groups to form a coalition government.

THE PROGRESS it has achieved in economic, social and cultural cooperation, together with fresh evidences of its capacity for effective, concerted action in international fora on issues like the Kampuchean problem, has led to wider international acceptance of ASEAN as an increasingly viable community of nations joined together by common ideals and aspirations. The prospect for the future of ASEAN has never been brighter.