Welcoming Speech By HE. S. Wiryono
Chairman Of The ASEAN Canberra Committee
At The Opening Ceremony Of The ASEAN Fair 1996
26 May 1996

The Honourable Kate Carnell
Fellow Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Friends

It is indeed a privilege to greet and extend a warm welcome to our distinguished guest, the Hon. Kate Carnell. On behalf of the Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the ASEAN Canberra Committee, I also extend this welcome to all present who have chosen to attend our ASEAN Fair, the theme of which is "A Taste of ASEAN". We are here today, not only to display the rich cultures of the seven ASEAN countries, Brunei: 'The Abode of Peace', Malaysia: 'A Modem Nation with a Traditional Heart', the Philippines: 'Where Asia Wears a Smile', Singapore: 'The Lion City', Thailand: 'The Land of Smiles', Vietnan: 'The Pearl of Far East Asia' and my own country Indonesia: 'The Spice Islands', but also our arts and crafts and most important of all, our cuisines.

The countries of ASEAN are the most immediate neighbours of Australia to the north and it is only natural that our countries and Australia have been, are, and will continue to interact. What we are doing today is an effort to make our countries better known and understood 'm Australia. While governments of course are interacting and setting policies, thousands of Australian business men and women travel every year to our countries to trade, to invest or simply to enjoy themselves as tourists. On the other hand, ASEAN business men and women too are coming to Australia to trade and invest, while thousands of our young people come to study in your great institutions of higher learning and to explore your impressive outdoors. Such interaction is natural and important as our world, and in particular our dynamic region, is becoming more and more interdependent and globalised and the need to know and understand each other better is clearly growing.

What we are doing today is promoting that better understanding in a popular way at the grass-roots level and we do that by introducing our food, performing our dances, exhibiting our arts and crafts as well as singing our songs. 1 do hope that you will all enjoy yourselves today and please, if you want to talk to any of the ASEAN Ambassadors or High Commissioners, as well as staff and even the children, feel free to approach and talk with them.

In the planning and organising of today's Fair our Embassies and High Commissions have had enthusiastic support from many and 1 would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to the office of the Chief Minister for granting us the use of Albert Hall for the Fair.

We also kindly thank The Australian East India Company and New Style Decor for displaying their wares 'm the trade stalls.

Let me explain some of the attractions. We have delicious 'begedil' from Brunei and 'bubor cha cha' from Singapore as well as a delightful custome parade from Malaysia and Indonesian martial arts known as 'Pencak Silat'. Those who have bought tickets in the raffle will have the opportunity to win seven airline tickets to four spectacular ASEAN destinations which include Kota Kinabalu, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Manila. These tickets have been generously donated by our national airlines and 1 would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Royal Brunei Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Philippines Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.

I kindly ask you all to spend generously as the entire proceeds from the Fair will be given to the ACT Society for the Physically Handicapped, a very worthwhile cause.

Thank you.

May I now ask the Hon. Kate Camell to say a few words, after which I would respectfully request her to strike the gong three times to mark the opening of the ASEAN Fair 1996.