Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam congratulates ASEAN on its 46th anniversary, saying the 10-member regional grouping is making good progress in meeting its objectives, the official wibsite of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade posted the ASEAN Day message on Thursday.

In his congratulatory message, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said ASEAN strove to offer a sense of hope, confidence and purpose to more than 600 million people in the Southeast Asian region.

He said ASEAN is making good progress in meeting its objectives. "And each year I am pleased to see its members intensifying efforts to make the region more politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible," he said. "On this year's theme, 'Our people, Our Future Together', we emphasize the role of our people in ASEAN's community building efforts and look beyond 2015. With the programs that have been organized for our youth, we are equipping them with the necessary attributes and values to face tomorrow's challenges. They are after all the future leaders of ASEAN," he said.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah stressed that as today's achievements are being celebrated, the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, The ASEAN/ Bangkok Declaration, which they signed in 1967, is an important document that paved the way for many other ASEAN agreements and declarations.

"We should carry on their wisdom, vision and courage and let them be the source of ASEAN's inspiration into the future. In this spirit, we pay our respects to them," he said.