Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to ASEAN and Ambassador Nguyen Hoanh Nam (Source: VNA) Namsaid since its birth 50 years ago, ASEAN now groups 10 member states and playsan increasingly important role in maintaining peace and stability in theregion.
ASEANis considered one of the vibrant and fast-growing economies in the world, withthe ASEAN Economic Community being the third largest in Asia and the sixthlargest in the world. Its gross domestic product neared 2.55 trillion USD. Thebloc is playing a guiding and central role in regional mechanisms and highlyappreciated by major countries and international organisations.
Sinceits entry to ASEAN 22 years ago, Vietnam has actively and proactively joinedthe grouping’s activities, including accelerating the admission of Laos,Myanmar, and Cambodia, launching strategic policies and orientations to thebloc’s cooperation.
Vietnamhas also actively contributed to fostering solidarity and upholding ASEAN’scentral role in maintaining peace and security in the region, including theEast Sea issue, he said, adding that Vietnam is one of the first countries totake actions in the bloc’s plans and programmes to contribute to the formationof the ASEAN Community today.
Inorder to achieve goals set in the ASEAN Vision 2025, Nam said ASEAN needs to nurturesolidarity and seek common voice in addressing regional challenges whileboosting internal connectivity to effectively implement the Master Plan on 2025Vision, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, the third working plan onthe ASEAN Connectivity Initiative.
Inexternal relations, the ambassador said ASEAN needs to take new approach tostrengthening ties with countries and organisations, continue to uphold centralrole in the regional architecture, facilitate trade liberalisation and economicintegration, including the early formulation of several agreements on freetrade areas with partners.
Accordingto the Ambassador, Vietnam will continue contributing to ASEAN’s developmentvia specific initiatives and actions.
Vietnam’sPermanent Mission to ASEAN will continue offering consultancies and take newsteps in the new context, he said.-VNA
VNA
