Vietnam attends ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat
On August 14, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat took place in Hua Hin, a famous resort in Thailand, more than 200km south of Bangkok, under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Surapong Tovichakchaikul.
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who led the Vietnamese delegation to the conference, made important contributions, stating that ASEAN needs to unite and connect to continue building a politically cohesive community, closely cooperating economically and sharing social responsibilities. These will contribute to ASEAN's common prosperity and promoting its central role in the region, especially in issues related to peace, security and prosperous development.
This conference was organized at the initiative of Mr. Surapong to discuss ways to strengthen the whole bloc once ASEAN becomes a common community in 2015. The conference is considered a good opportunity for the Ministers to discuss how to make ASEAN institutions stronger, contributing to effectively coping with the fluctuations of the global environment.
The Ministers discussed the ASEAN vision beyond 2015 to provide guidance for a common community that is guaranteed peace, stability and sustainable economic development in the future. Other issues such as universal health care policy, environmental challenges and the haze problem in the region were also discussed at the conference.
Minister Pham Binh Minh shared orientations for ASEAN development until 2015 and beyond, in which ASEAN needs to well implement immediate goals in order to continue to promote in the following decades.
Foreign Ministers and ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh (far right) pose for a souvenir photo at the Foreign Ministers' Retreat
This ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat is a meeting of regional diplomatic leaders to prepare for the special ASEAN-China meeting later this August in Beijing.
ASEAN and China are seeking to elevate their strategic partnership to a new level on the occasion of their 10th anniversary. Ministers said ASEAN needs to unite and harmonize national and regional interests to ensure its centrality and make positive contributions to regional peace and security.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers also discussed issues related to ASEAN-China relations and promoting the strategic partnership between the two sides, paving the way for the 16th ASEAN-China Summit in October in Brunei.
ASEAN Ministers all assessed that the ASEAN-China relationship is one of the most dynamic and effective development partnerships. Over the past 10 years of strategic partnership, both sides have achieved many achievements, opening up opportunities to further promote cooperation for the benefit of each side.
The Vietnamese Foreign Minister shared that ASEAN and China need to build trust in all areas. The two sides also need to implement well all the signed agreements related to the East Sea issue, such as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), to reach an agreement on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)./.
According to VNA - LT
