Mr. Le Luong Minh hopes to resolve the East Sea dispute.
On January 9, the handover ceremony of the position of ASEAN Secretary General took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the ASEAN Secretariat is located. Mr. Le Luong Minh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, took over this position from his Thai predecessor, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan.
Mr. Le Luong Minh - Photo: VNA
In his speech, Mr. Minh recalled the moment he first entered the Asean Secretariat building in the Indonesian capital during an unofficial visit. “I was immediately struck by the sense of unity. In the lobby, there were not only the flags of the ten Asean member states but also those of Asean partners. It is this sense of unity that has made Asean a proud and strong organization, strong in itself and in its will to cooperate,” Mr. Minh said.
The new Secretary General also outlined his tasks for the next five-year term (2013-2017), including the master plan for building the ASEAN political and security community, promoting progress to soon start negotiations with China to reach an early conclusion on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) was set by Mr. Minh on the basis of what has been achieved between the two sides such as the agreement on the principles for implementing the Declaration on Conduct (DOC), the ASEAN Six-Point Principles, and the ASEAN-China joint statement on the 10th anniversary of the DOC.
In terms of economics, Mr. Le Luong Minh commented that the increasingly open flow of investment, capital, labor, goods and services will bring both challenges and opportunities to member countries. In addition, society and culture also play a key role: “Narrowing the development gap is not only an economic goal. Providing good education for the young generation is one of the most effective ways to escape the poverty trap. That is one reason why we care about education."
“The next five years will be an important and exciting period. I and all of us at the Secretariat are ready to work closely with ASEAN member states to ensure we can deliver on our key commitments and objectives,” Minh concluded his inaugural address.
This is the first time a Vietnamese has held the position of Secretary General of this organization. Mr. Minh was nominated by Vietnam and approved by the leaders of 10 ASEAN countries in November 2012 in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) during the 21st ASEAN Summit.
The new ASEAN Secretary General is 61 years old. He graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. He was the head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
According to Tuoi Tre - TH
