A strong, stable and united ASEAN will be an essential factor for the security and development of the region as well as of Vietnam, said Ambassador Vu Dang Dung, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Representative Mission to ASEAN.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of ASEAN’s 46 th founding anniversary (August 8) and 18 years since Vietnam joined the bloc (July 28), the ambassador affirmed that ASEAN has an increasingly importance to Vietnam .

“We reap practical benefits when contributing to the formation of the ASEAN Community, which will create and maintain a favourable environment for our country’s development as well as provide an indispensable bridge for us to carry out the foreign policy of comprehensive international integration in the coming time,” Ambassador Dung said.

He noted that after joining the organisation, Vietnam has step by step become involved in all cooperative mechanisms and played an active part in many common issues of the bloc, making its own imprint on different development stages of the association.

The ambassador cited as example, Vietnam ’s successful term as ASEAN Chair in 2010, during which many concrete actions had been taken to materialise the vision of the ASEAN Community by 2015, creating a momentum for the years after 2010 until 2015.

Vietnam has also raised many useful initiatives and made contributions to heightening the group’s role in maintaining peace and stability in the region, especially peace, maritime security and safety in the East Sea, he said, adding that with such efforts, the country’s voice and role has been highly appreciated by other ASEAN member countries and partners.-VNA