(VOVworld) - The US values its relations with ASEAN and hopes the group will strongly develop and integrate into the world community. Nina Hachigian, newly-accredited US Ambassador to ASEAN, was speaking after presenting her credentials to ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday. Hachigian affirmed her readiness to work closely with ASEAN’s Secretariat and its member nations in cooperation programs on climate change and the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI).

ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh shakes hand with Nina Hachigian, new US Ambassador to ASEAN. (Photo: www. asean.org)

Minh appreciated the US’s greater engagement in ASEAN, which has contributed significantly to promoting regional peace, stability, and development. He promised the ASEAN Secretariat’s assistance to bloc members and the US in building a post-2015 comprehensive joint action plan.