The 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM-43) and related meetings have ended successfully, putting forward concrete measures to boost the efforts towards a strong and closely integrated ASEAN with openness in external relations, said Vietnamese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Talking to the press after the closing ceremony of the AMM-43, the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences with dialogue partners, and the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi on July 23, Deputy PM and FM Khiem said that the conferences are important steps to implement the results of the 16 th ASEAN Summit last April and prepare for the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related meetings to be held in October this year.

The ministers discussed concrete solutions to boost strong cooperation within the bloc, accelerate the itinerary to build the ASEAN Community and maintain regional peace, security and stability as well as forge the effective cooperation between ASEAN and its partners, particularly in economics, trade, investment, finance, energy, food, climate change, control of natural disasters and epidemics, said the deputy PM.

They touched upon measures to ensure the ASEAN’s central role in the shaping regional architecture on the foundation of maintaining the bloc’s centrality and goals and principles of the East Asia Summit and also exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual concern, he added.

Deputy PM and FM Khiem took the occasion to emphasise that Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair, has been proactive, positive and responsible in coordinating and consulting with other ASEAN members and their partners, contributing to the conferences’ success.

At the meetings, Vietnam put forward four initiatives which have won the participating countries’ support.

The first initiative is a core viewpoint on the shaping of the regional architecture in the coming time. After the discussion, the nations agreed that ASEAN will boost international cooperation but with selection under the common spirit that ASEAN is an open mechanism for countries with interest in which the bloc plays a central role.

The second is promoting the organisation of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting which is slated for October, which is considered a good mechanism to supplement the ASEAN Regional Forum’s mechanism to ensure regional security and stability.

Vietnam also proposed to have a meeting of heads of ASEAN urban security and police officers to promote cooperation in fighting terrorism, women kidnapping, migration, trans-national crime and money laundering.

Under Vietnam’s proposal, ASEAN issued a declaration on the treatment of fishermen meeting with accidents at sea. The participating nations agreed to boost cooperation in providing humanitarian assistance to people and vessels in accident at sea, said the deputy PM./.