Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem emphasised the need to define specific priorities in coordinating work and seeking ways to mobilise resources serving the goal of building an ASEAN Community.

Deputy PM Khiem delivered this message in a speech at a ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council, which coincided with meetings of the ASEAN Economic Community Council and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council, in Hua Hin, Thailand, on October 22.

The Vietnamese representative stated that ASEAN should continue to boost the implementation of the second phase of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and narrow the development gap between its members.

He also briefed attendees on Vietnam’s preparations for its rotating ASEAN presidency in 2010.

At the meeting, ASEAN foreign ministers discussed preparations for the upcoming 15th ASEAN Summit as well as reviewed the implementation of the previous summit’s decisions on building an ASEAN Community and implementing the ASEAN Charter.

The ministers applauded the working results of the high-level Legal Experts’ Group on Follow-up to the ASEAN Charter.

At the ASEAN Economic Community Council meeting, ministers discussed criteria to assess the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community and stressed the necessity of deploying economic agreements on schedule as well as speeding up the building of an ASEAN one-stop-shop ( OSS ) mechanism.

They agreed to further strengthen intra-bloc connectivity, ensuring the association’s central role in linking regional economies.

Meanwhile, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council discussed measures to boost cooperation in education and cope with climate change as well as addressing the social effects of the global financial crisis.

The ministers approved the Operation Regulations of the ASEAN Committee for Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children and agreed to strengthen cultural cooperation to raise public awareness about the ASEAN Community./.