The 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM-43) opened in Hanoi on July
20 in the presence of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
In his opening speech, PM Dung said that the meeting is
taking place as ASEAN enters a new stage of development, moving towards
the creation of an ASEAN Community by 2015, operating under the ASEAN
Charter.
“ASEAN is making every effort and using all
its resources to achieve the objectives set out in the plans for an
ASEAN Community,” said the PM.
“The association is
also striving to further its external relations and expand cooperation
with its partners to facilitate the ASEAN Community and effectively
respond to global challenges while maintaining the Association’s central
role in addressing regional issues,” he noted.
The
Vietnamese leader stressed that the achievements recorded to date are
enormous and of great significance. However, much remains to be done to
realise the ASEAN Community’s goals of being a community that is
politically harmonious, economically integrated and socially
responsible.
PM Dung went on to say that this
meeting coincides with the celebrations of the 15 th anniversary of
Vietnam joining ASEAN. Since Vietnam has been a member of ASEAN,
the country has rapidly integrated into and positively contributed to
the Association’s development.
“We are very happy
and proud that Vietnam has joined with other ASEAN members to lay
down a firm foundation to bring the ASEAN Community to life by 2015,”
said the PM.
Being an integral part of the ASEAN
family, it is Vietnam’s policy to be “proactive, positive and
responsible”, which will contribute to a strong and closely integrated
ASEAN at the heart of the region.
He added: “During
our ASEAN Chairmanship in 2010, we have been doing our utmost to work
closely with other member states and record tangible outcomes in the
process to build an ASEAN Community.”
PM Dung said
he believed that at this meeting, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and
their partners will have fruitful and constructive discussions, work out
how to step up cooperation in various fields, address political and
security issues and cope with emerging challenges in the region and the
world.
Following the opening ceremony, the ASEAN
Foreign Ministers attended a plenary session.
Prior
to the AMM-43 and other related meetings, PM Dung hosted a reception for
the heads of the ASEAN delegations and ASEAN Secretary General
Surin Pitsuwan.
He told his guests that the meeting
is very important for the ASEAN community as well as for Vietnam as
it holds the bloc’s chair.
The PM thanked the ASEAN
leaders, the Foreign Ministers and the bloc’s Secretary General for
helping Vietnam to organise the ASEAN Summit in April 2010, saying
that the Foreign Ministers contributed greatly to the summits success.
In its capacity as ASEAN chair, Vietnam attended
the G20 Summit in Canada and highlighted the group’s viewpoints,
which were applauded by the international community, he said.
The Vietnamese PM gave a briefing on Vietnam’s socio-economic
situation in the first half of the year and said that, with its
responsibility as ASEAN Chair, Vietnam will make great efforts to
realise the motto “Towards the ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action”
as agreed upon by the ASEAN leaders.
The PM said he
hoped that the ASEAN leaders and Foreign Ministers would continue to
work with Vietnam to ensure the successful creation of the ASEAN
Community./.