The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry organised a ceremony to hoist the flags of ASEAN and Vietnam in Hanoi on August 8 to mark the 44th founding anniversary of ASEAN and the 16th anniversary of Vietnam’s admission to ASEAN.

At the 44th ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting in Indonesia this year, ASEAN leaders reached consensus on hoisting the ASEAN flag next to national flags at their diplomatic representative offices on ASEAN Day (August 8), starting from this year, to raise public awareness of ASEAN and the bloc’s community building process.

Also on the same day, the Vietnamese Embassies in Laos, Malaysia and Australia organised similar ceremonies.

In Vientiane, minister Nguyen Van An said since joined the bloc on July 28, 1995, Vietnam had constantly and proactively contributed meaningful opinions to ASEAN activities and the ASEAN Charter. The country had successfully organised many ASEAN conferences as well as the bloc’s meetings with its partners, and performed particularly well in its role as ASEAN Chair in 2010.

At the ceremony in Malaysia, Ambassador to Malaysia Nguyen Hong Thao said the flag hoisting ceremony marked the outstanding progress of the ASEAN bloc as an active player in ensuring peace and prosperity in the region and the world.

The Vietnamese diplomat expressed hope that the development of the ASEAN Community as well as the relationship between Vietnam and Malaysia would become stronger and more active to contribute to peace, security and stability in each country, the entire region and the world.

Addressing the event in Canberra, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Hoang Vinh Thanh affirmed the ASEAN flag hoisting ceremony in Canberra featured a symbol of unity, solidarity, and cooperation among ASEAN member countries and the comprehensive cooperation between ASEAN and Australia, one the bloc’s dialogue partners.

By hoisting the ASEAN and Vietnamese flags in the capital city as well as at a number of diplomatic representative agencies and its embassies abroad, Vietnam showed its determination to contribute to building the ASEAN Community by 2015 and promoting further images of ASEAN and the ASEAN Community in the international community.

With a proactive, enthusiastic and responsible spirit, Vietnam would make more effective contributions to ASEAN cooperation and work with other ASEAN members in building the ASEAN Community of unity, connectivity and strength, contributing to the common goals of peace, stability and development in the region.

Also on August 8, the embassies of ASEAN member countries in Vietnam hoisted the ASEAN flag.

The ASEAN Secretariat organised a ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN and hoist the ASEAN flag, in the presence of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, which chairs ASEAN in 2011 and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan among others.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said ASEAN had increasingly proved that it was a regional organisation capable of solving its own issues effectively./.