ASEM important to Vietnam’s multilateral diplomacy: ambassador

Hanoi (VNA) – The past 25 years is a course of history with breakthroughs in international relations of both Asia and Europe, and one of the most noteworthy achievements is the Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM).

The remark was made by Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga, Vice Chairwoman of the National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation and Senior Advisor to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while talking to the press on the occasion of ASEM’s 25th founding anniversary.

Regarding ASEM’s significance to Vietnam and the country’s contributions to this multilateral forum as a founding member, she said the establishment of ASEM was a turning point that changed the nature of Asia - Europe relations and the equality in international relations.

ASEM has helped the two continents enhance their voice and coordination, effectively deal with issues in international ties, and substantially contribute to the enhancement of mutual understanding, cooperation, and equality to achieve common targets and development.

This forum was founded not only to share and strengthen mutual understanding but also to take concrete actions, Nga noted.

She went on to say that via ASEM, Vietnam has made use of support to promote negotiations on its entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its integration into the global economy.

The ambassador affirmed the highly important role of ASEM and its members as the COVID-19 pandemic is remaining complicated in both continents.

Apart from the current cooperation priority of continuing responding to COVID-19, ASEM should also consider a longer-term issue, namely the post-pandemic comprehensive socio-economic recovery, she held.

ASEM is an important forum for Vietnam in terms of strategy, economy, politics, security, development, and society, Nga said, adding that the ASEM High-level Policy Dialogue on "ASEM at 25: Strengthening Asia-Europe Partnership in a Transforming World", held on June 22, showed that the theme Vietnam chose for the event attracted the attention of other members.

The diplomat said the dialogue also demonstrated the clear-sightedness of the foreign policy stated in the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

What have been achieved over the past 25 years have shown that ASEM continues to play a crucial role during the implementation of Vietnam’s multilateral diplomacy, Nga added./.