Excellencies
Fellow ASEAN Foreign Ministers
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

I feel very honoured and pleased to be in Hanoi today, to bear witness and take part in a momentous event marking the formal admission into ASEAN of the Kingdom of Cambodia. This is indeed a very important day in the annals of our Organisation and the history of our region. Finally, ASEAN has become TEN and the whole of Southeast Asia united under one common banner. It is a proud moment for regionalism in our part of the world because a dream has come true and a vision accomplished. I congratulate the Government of Vietnam for its role in this endeavour and hosting this admission ceremony.

2. Malaysia had wished that Cambodia be admitted in 1997 together with Laos and Myanmar but, as it turned out, this was not possible. However, we never relented in our efforts to ensure the early entry of Cambodia into ASEAN. It is thus with great pleasure, on behalf of the Government and people of Malaysia that I now ask my colleague H.E. Hor Namhong to convey, to the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, our heartiest congratulations and sincere good wishes on this auspicious occasion of the formal admission of Cambodia as a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

3. I would also like to extend my own warm welcome to Foreign Minister Hor Namhong into the ASEAN fraternity, and offer him my best wishes in his additional role as an ASEAN Foreign Minister. I wish to assure His Excellency of my personal cooperation. Malaysia stands ready to work closely with Cambodia to make its membership of ASEAN meaningful and mutually beneficial. Like other members, Cambodia has a responsibility and lot to contribute to make ASEAN stronger.

4. The signing today of the Declaration on the Admission of Cambodia into ASEAN is not only an episode of great emotion but also an event of immense potentials. Cambodia's long - awaited membership in ASEAN fulfilled the vision of the Founding Fathers of the Association, that all of Southeast Asia be ultimately united as one, sharing a common destiny and pursuing the common goal of peace and prosperity for its peoples. Cambodia was never far from ASEAN's attention even when the country was at war. ASEAN is delighted that it is able to welcome Cambodia when peace has returned. There should be a common resolve among all of us not to allow peace ever to be disturbed again in our region.

5. In 1967, when ASEAN was formed, the skeptics were predicting that there would be divisions and fragmentation in Southeast Asia. They said that the new grouping was doomed just as its forerunners had failed to meet the demands of regionalism. However, thirty two years hence ASEAN the Association has not only survived but prospered, just as individual member states enjoyed social development and economic growth. But most of all, ASEAN kept the peace among its members and held the region stable. There was, and there continues to be, something right in the ASEAN formula.

6. The past thirty two years of stability in the region had given much meaning and credibility to the concept of regional cooperation. Having overcome many odds along the way, ASEAN and Southeast Asia have now become synonymous with one another, increased in strength and enhanced in stature. Our region should now be poised to attain greater heights of accomplishments in the new millennium. It is our common task to make it happen.

7. When the Cold War was raging, ASEAN declared a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality for Southeast Asia in 1971. When the rest of continental Southeast Asia was in turmoil, the five ASEAN members at that time signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 1976. Desiring to create a new dimension in intra-ASEAN economic cooperation, the Summit in 1992 decided to establish the ASEAN Free Trade Area. This was without doubt a signal of the maturing of the ASEAN economies and a show of collective confidence by ASEAN members in the wake of new global challenges especially in the field of trade relations. In preparation for the next millennium, ASEAN adopted its Vision 2020 in 1997, immediately followed by an implementing resolution contained in the Hanoi Plan of Action of 1998.

8. To enable ASEAN to continue to prosper in the decades to come, the onus will be on ASEAN member countries to sustain resilience and maintain solidarity. The Association must be enabled to cope with the demands of an enlarged grouping, in the face of new regional and international challenges in the next century. I do believe that ASEAN's time-tested culture of consultation, consensus and mutual respect, supported by a backdrop of regional unity and cooperation, will continue to hold us in good stead as well as guide us in the correct direction. I do believe also that, in the wake of creeping globalisation and the increasing erosion of borders between nations, regionalism as practiced in the ASEAN way has an important part to play in the protection and promotion of our national and regional interests.

9. This is the challenging environment in which we bid Cambodia welcome into the ASEAN fold. I look forward to working closely with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and other ASEAN colleagues to implement the Hanoi Plan of Action and achieve the goals of ASEAN's Vision 2020. I am confident that Cambodia's admission into ASEAN will be a positive factor for our Association in this and other endeavours.