Washington DC (VNA) - US Secretary of State AntonyJ. Blinken on August 6 issued a press statement to congratulate the ten memberstates of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEANSecretariat on the bloc’s 54th founding anniversary (August 8).

In his statement, he wrote the strategic partnership betweenthe United States and ASEAN contributes to their shared vision of a free andopen Indo-Pacific, with ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms as a centerpiece ofregional architecture.

He said he looks forward to additional fruitful engagement inthe region when US Vice President Kamala Harris travels to Singapore and Vietnamthis month to continue to discuss the cooperation on pressing regional andinternational challenges as well as on deepening ties between the US andSoutheast Asian peoples.

Blinken reaffirmed that the US would continue to partner with ASEAN countries in the fight against COVID-19. To date, the US hasprovided more than 23 million vaccine doses and over 158 million USD in healthand humanitarian assistance to ASEAN members to support their response to thepandemic.

“We will also be there to support the region to build backbetter from the economic damage wrought by the pandemic by helping drive agreen recovery and ensure readiness for future outbreaks,” wrote the statement.

Regarding the sides’ people-to-people ties, the diplomat highlightedthe US’s ongoing support for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative(YSEALI) and other cultural, academic, and professional exchanges./.