ASEAN Committee in Brasilia celebrates ASEAN Family Day

The ASEAN Committee in Brasilia (ACB) held an ASEAN Family Day at Brasilia’s Jardim Botanico on August 31.  The Heads of Mission and spouses of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as the officers and staff of the Embassies, were welcomed by the officers of Jardim Botanico.

As Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Brasilia, Philippine Ambassador Eva G. Betita introduced the ASEAN and the work of the ACB to the Brazilian officials.  The visit marks the first time that the Heads of Mission of the ACB, namely, Ambassador Dató Sudha Devi of Malaysia; Ambassador Sudaryomo Hartosudarmo of Indonesia; Ambassador Thiri Pyanchi U Tun Nay Linn of Myanmar; Ambassador Tharit Charungvat of Thailand, Chargé d’Affairés Lian Choo Tan of Singapore, and Chargé d’Affairés Tran Khang Ninh of Vietnam visited Jardim Botanico as a group.

Ambassador Betita gave a brief background on ASEAN to raise awareness about the regional grouping, and recounted ASEAN's efforts to preserve the rich biodiversity in the region.  Ambassador Betita underscored that while ASEAN “occupies only three per cent of the world’s total land area, the region is renowned for its rich biological heritage, with three mega biodiversity countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, which together represent around 80 per cent of global biological diversity.”

Ambassador Betita also informed the Brazilian scientists, officers and staff of Jardim Botanico about the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), an intergovernmental regional center of excellence based in Los Banos, that facilitates cooperation and coordination among the members of ASEAN, and relevant national governments, regional and international organizations on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

The Ambassadors and Chargé d’Affairés of ASEAN conveyed to Jardim Botanico their desire to establish closer relations, foster exchanges of ideas and views, and encourage people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN countries and Brazil in the common pursuit to conserve and preserve biodiversity.  Jardim Botanico botanists led the tour around the gardens, and demonstrated their efforts to promote self-sustainability in Brazil.

The field trip was capped with a potluck lunch of ASEAN food at the picnic area of the Botanical Gardens.  END