REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The main problem of ASEAN is corruption, the US Ambassador to ASEAN, David L Carden, says in his public lecture entitled US engagement with ASEAN at Paramadina University, Jakarta, on Wednesday. “They fail to develop sustainable economy,” he said.

Corruption occurs because there is no transparency. “Other countries do not want to invest if there is no transparency,” he explained. He gave the example, if someone sold his car but he did not explain about the car specification, no one would buy it. Thus, ASEAN countries should explain the usage of the investment transparently. “We have to encourage people to invest,” he said.

The second problem is high unemployment. He emphasizes once again that people are not investing in a sustainable economy. “The problems in this region should be solved together because it is affected other countries,” he explained.

The US conducts the engagement with ASEAN to tackle the problems. “There is no hidden agenda between US and ASEAN,” he said. “US virtually won World War II. After the war, we built what we destroy. We built Europe and Japan. That’s what US all about. We want the world to work together,” Carden added.

Due to the next president election in the US, Carden guarantees that his country will engage in ASEAN regardless who the president is –either democrat or Republican. “One thing that people forget is that the first people to recommend the US ambassador to ASEAN are the bipartisan collection of senators,” he explained.

It is the bipartisan support that makes US choose an ambassador for ASEAN. “We will continue regardless who is the president,” he said then added, he also expects that US budget cuts would not affect the engagement between the US and ASEAN.   

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