Singapore's President S.R. Nathan presented the ASEAN Secretariat with a bronze sculpture, by Singapore artist Sun Yuli. From the report in Channel News Asia:

«President Nathan presented a bronze sculpture, aptly entitled "Harmony", to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

Mr Nathan's association with the regional grouping of Southeast Asian nations dates back some 40 years, when he was a senior officer in Singapore's Foreign Service helping to set up ASEAN in 1967.

In recent weeks, ASEAN's role in the region has been underscored by several leaders visiting Jakarta.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice drove home the point during her visit here.

President Nathan and President Yudhoyono also stressed the importance of ASEAN to collectively face the emerging challenges in Asia.

The Singapore head of state spent an hour at the secretariat which was built during the Suharto-era.

Mr Nathan and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had earlier discussed ways to strengthen the role of ASEAN.

"There is an impression that ASEAN is doing reasonably well and therefore outsiders are interested in engaging ASEAN. And on our own part, we believe that to compete globally, ASEAN has to integrate economically," said Ong Keng Yong, ASEAN's Secretary-General.»

No pix of the artwork online yet, not even on Sun's own website. So we don't know if it is the same design as Sun's "Harmony" which was set up recently in Jinji Lakeside near Suzhou, China, and featured on a Singapore-issued commemorative coin.

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# posted @ 9:40 AM