The flag hoisting ceremony takes place at the foreign ministry's headquarters (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a flag hoisting ceremony in Hanoi on August 8 to mark the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)’s 49th founding anniversary and 21 years since Vietnam joined the bloc.
Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam, and Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung were among Vietnamese officials at the event.
The ceremony was also attended by Moroccan Ambassador El Houcine Fardani, head of the diplomatic corps in Hanoi, and ambassadors, chargé d’affaires and representatives of ASEAN countries’ embassies in the city.
ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967. Vietnam became a member of the grouping on July 28, 1995.
The bloc consists of 10 member countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The flag raising ceremony on ASEAN’s foundation day is an annual event in all member nations and the ASEAN Secretariat, aiming to honour common values and promote solidarity, amity and cooperation in the bloc.-VNA
