The ASEAN Community will bring many development opportunities.

2015 will be an important milestone with the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community and the development of the ASEAN Community Vision after 2015.

Member countries are working hard to promote the establishment of the ASEAN Community and believe that the ASEAN Community after 2015 will bring prosperity to the region.

Processing basa fish for export. Source: VNA

On the occasion of the beginning of 2015, Ambassador Vu Dang Dung, Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to ASEAN, gave an interview to a reporter of the Vietnam News Agency in Jakarta.

- Could you please tell us what the ASEAN Community, expected to be established by the end of 2015, will mean to the member countries, the region and the world?

Ambassador Vu Dang Dung:The establishment of the ASEAN Community, expected to be announced on December 31, 2015, will be an important milestone marking a new step in the development process of ASEAN, a convergence of cooperation results achieved within ASEAN and between ASEAN and the outside world over nearly 48 years of formation and development. Certainly, the establishment of the ASEAN Community with three pillars of politics-security, economy and culture-society will have multifaceted impacts and meanings not only for ASEAN countries but also for the whole region and the world.

The ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) will bring political-security cooperation among countries to a new level, contributing more effectively to peace and stability in the region, ensuring that ASEAN countries live together and with external countries in a peaceful, stable, democratic and harmonious environment on the basis of common values ​​and norms of conduct, shared interests and responsibilities, while expanding cooperation and integration with the outside world.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will create a prosperous, dynamic and highly competitive ASEAN economic region, a single market and production base, ensuring the free flow of goods, trade, services, investment and skilled labor among ASEAN countries. Most tariff and non-tariff barriers will be removed (an estimated 89% of import duties have been removed), coupled with measures to further facilitate trade and investment, harmonize standards and regulations, further simplify customs procedures through the "ASEAN Single Window" framework, build transport connectivity networks, and closer cooperation in the fields of agriculture, tourism, energy, transport, and information technology.

The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASEAN) will aim to build a common ASEAN identity, enhance social responsibility, ensure a balance between economic growth and social development goals and environmental protection through enhancing cooperation and cultural exchange, information exchange, education, youth, protecting and enhancing the role of women and children, poverty reduction, health, environment and disaster response, etc.

In parallel with efforts to build the Community based on three pillars, ASEAN will continue to narrow the development gap among ASEAN member countries as well as between ASEAN and the outside world through plans to implement the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), while enhancing connectivity cooperation to further facilitate transportation, travel, exchange and cooperation between people and businesses in the region through the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC). It is necessary to clearly understand that the ASEAN Community is both a goal and a process. December 31, 2015 is just the beginning, in which the results achieved will create the premise to bring ASEAN connectivity to a deeper level in the future. For that reason, ASEAN is embarking on building the Vision for the ASEAN Community after 2015, setting out major development goals and directions for ASEAN from now until 2025.

- Dear Ambassador, when the ASEAN Community is formed, what opportunities and challenges will Vietnam face?

Ambassador Vu Dang Dung:When established, the ASEAN Community will bring many development opportunities for Vietnam and its member countries in terms of politics-security, economy and culture-society, but it also comes with many challenges. There have been many analyses on this issue in the press. Here, I would like to mention only three “big things” as follows.

One is about awareness. This is a common problem for ASEAN countries. But for Vietnam in particular, it is even more important to have a correct awareness of the ASEAN Community, avoid excessive expectations or underestimation of ASEAN, and thereby have appropriate preparations to seize opportunities and resolve challenges.

According to some studies by the ASEAN Secretariat, Vietnam is in the lower group in terms of awareness of ASEAN, in which the majority of small and medium enterprises have not had full access to information about the opportunities brought by the ASEAN Economic Community. To address this, ASEAN has developed an ASEAN Communications Master Plan to create a framework and direction for the development and implementation of communication strategies to promote ASEAN, as well as plans to organize many activities to celebrate the ASEAN Community this year. At the national level, Vietnam also has an ASEAN Communication Plan. It is hoped that these plans will be implemented effectively, helping to further raise public awareness.

Second is capacity. That is the capacity of the entire economy, of the business community as well as of each cadre and citizen when participating in ASEAN. Compared to the time of joining ASEAN in 1995, Vietnam's current position and strength have developed remarkably. However, there is still a gap between Vietnam and some ASEAN countries that is not easy to narrow. Compared to the region, Vietnam is still ranked low in the rankings of labor productivity and creativity index as well as human resource quality (27.2/100 points). The gap in per capita income compared to ASEAN is increasing (1,908 USD/person compared to the average of 3,837 USD/person of ASEAN). This significantly affects the ability to absorb and take advantage of opportunities brought about by regional economic integration, affecting Vietnam's contribution to ASEAN activities, especially in proposing major strategic initiatives and orientations for ASEAN and regional cooperation.

Third is the legal and institutional framework. Obviously, the cooperation process in recent times has shown that Vietnam needs to make more efforts to harmonize legal regulations and standards between Vietnam and ASEAN countries, helping Vietnamese businesses and people have an equal position and equal opportunities in accessing the results of regional integration, including prices, quality of goods and services, education, healthcare, etc.

- The establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015 and the development of the ASEAN Community Vision after 2015 require members to make more active contributions. Ambassador, what are the key points and priorities of Vietnam's participation in ASEAN cooperation this year?

Ambassador Vu Dang Dung:For Vietnam, 2015 is also the 20th anniversary of Vietnam joining ASEAN. From the initial awkward steps, Vietnam has become more and more mature, proactively participating and contributing positively to ASEAN's common activities with a sense of responsibility, which is highly appreciated by other countries. A typical example is that Vietnam is among the countries with a high rate of implementation of ASEAN's economic integration programs and measures.

In 2015, Vietnam's focus is to actively work with other countries to achieve the goal of announcing the establishment of the ASEAN Community on December 31, 2015, especially completing the remaining programs and measures in the Roadmap for building the ASEAN Community for the 2009-2015 period and bringing specific and practical benefits to people and businesses.

In addition, Vietnam will strive to join other countries in contributing to the development of the ASEAN Development Vision after 2015 to help deepen ASEAN integration. Regarding peace and security, we will continue to consolidate and enhance ASEAN's role as a key force for regional peace and security, including maintaining peace, stability, security and maritime safety in the East Sea.

Regarding the institutional framework, Vietnam will actively promote the improvement and enhancement of the operational efficiency of the ASEAN apparatus, along with strengthening the capacity of the ASEAN Secretariat. Regarding foreign relations, it will actively improve the quality and deepen cooperation with existing partners, along with establishing cooperation with potential partners through many flexible forms.

Particularly within the framework of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), of which the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to ASEAN is a member, Vietnam will continue to actively participate with other countries to successfully complete the key priorities set for 2015, promote the regional coordinating role of the CPR and build effective cooperation and coordination with agencies of the three pillars of politics-security, economy and culture-society to actively support the work of building the Community, developing foreign relations, improving the ASEAN organizational apparatus and enhancing the operational efficiency of the ASEAN Secretariat.

- Thank you very much, Ambassador!

According to Vietnam+