Friday, 2 May 2008

Senate confirms first U.S. envoy to ASEAN

www.chinaview.cn
2008-05-02

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate has confirmed the appointment of Scot Marciel to become the first envoy to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), U.S. media reported Thursday.

The confirmation of Marciel "is an extraordinary milestone affirming the strong bipartisan commitment of American leaders and the American people to maintain and broaden our relationship with ASEAN," said Dick Lugar, a heavyweight Republican at the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.

Marciel has been a U.S. deputy assistant secretary of State at the State Department.

The United States has been trying to cement ties with ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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