ASEAN starts course for diplomats

JAKARTA (JP): The ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta yesterday began a five-day course for junior ASEAN diplomats aimed at forging a better understanding of the region's foremost organization.

During the course participants will be briefed on political, economic and social development in ASEAN. It is part of an overall two-month program in which the junior diplomats visit various ASEAn capitals.

ASEAN Secretary General Dato Ajit Singh at the opening of the course told the 30 participants that through the program: "You will have forged some enduring bond with your counterparts in the various ASEAN countries which bode well for ASEAN integration and cohesion." (mds)