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AA, 09.08.2017 

By Ecenur Colak and Cansu Dikme

ASEAN ambassadors hail Turkey’s application for sectoral dialogue partnership

Ambassadors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have welcomed Turkey’s “multi-dimensional” foreign policy.

A. Selvarajah, Singapore’s ambassador to Turkey, in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency on Tuesday, said: “In the past, Turkey has focused on its European accession and European membership. But today Turkey wants to also look beyond Europe to other parts of the world.”

“Turkey’s strategy of having a multi-dimensional foreign policy is kindly welcomed by the ASEAN countries, and also this decision to apply for sectoral dialogue partnership [with the bloc],” he added.

His remarks came after a ceremony held at the Indonesian ambassador’s residence to mark the 50th anniversary of ASEAN.

ASEAN -- a regional bloc of 10 countries comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- was founded on Aug. 8, 1967 in Bangkok.

Praising Turkey’s deepened relations with ASEAN member states, Philippine ambassador Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez said Ankara’s application for sectoral dialogue partnership carried links between the bloc and Turkey to an institutional level.

“We need to say that there is a work platform for deepening the relationship in a regional capacity,” Sanchez said.

For the full text of this text, please see http://aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/turkey-s-multi-dimensional-foreign-policy-welcomed/880955