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SINGAPORE : Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo on Wednesday said that ties between ASEAN and the United States will remain a key pillar in the evolving political and security architecture of the region.
Opening the ASEAN-US Dialogue, which Singapore is co-chairing with the US, Mr Yeo said no major strategic issue in Asia can be resolved without the active participation of the US.
He said, "For all major challenges - be it climate change, environmental protection, pandemics, terrorism, disaster response or energy security - we in ASEAN welcome close cooperation with the US.
"We will always remember the help which the US gave Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami and its willingness to help Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis."
On the economic front, Mr Yeo noted that US private investment in ASEAN is nearing US$100 billion. ASEAN is now the US' fourth largest export market.
Trade between the US and ASEAN member countries has grown steadily in the past decade, increasing from US$120 billion in 1997 to US$172 billion last year. - CNA/ms
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