Hanoi (VNA)
– The 2023 ASEAN Family Day has been organised in Caracas by the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela and the ASEAN Committee in Caracas (ACC) on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of ASEAN and the 28th anniversary of Vietnam’s accession to ASEAN.
The event saw the presence of representatives of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
As the rotating chairman of the ACC, Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela Vu Trung My highlighted ASEAN's achievements in over a half century, saying it has become an organisation with an important role in securing peace, stability and security in the region as well as a reliable partner of countries and organisations around the world. He attributed those successes to the efforts of member countries in building a united community.
Since joining ASEAN 28 years ago, Vietnam has made important contributions to the common development of the association, creating a foundation for building a cohesive ASEAN Community on three pillars namely Political-Security Community, Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community; maintaining solidarity and unity within the bloc and consolidating its centrality in international and regional affairs, he said.
The ambassador also expressed ASEAN's desire to strengthen inter-regional cooperation between ASEAN and CELAC in the coming time.
Javier Ibarrar, from the Asia, Middle East and Oceania Department at the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highly valued the organisation of the ASEAN Family Day 2023 which reflected solidarity, consensus and unity in the diversity of the bloc. He also hoped that Venezuela will soon become an observer of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
Speaking at the event, Gareth Bynoe, Ambassador of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the country holding the rotating chairmanship of CELAC, spoke highly of the cohesion and close cooperation within ASEAN.
He said the mutual understanding between ACC and CELAC has laid a foundation for promoting cross-regional cooperation and connectivity between CELAC and ASEAN in the coming time./.
