Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (fourth from the left) and other ASEAN leaders at a retreat session of the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on May 10. (Photo: VNA) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Vietnam, are actively implementing the three pillars of the ASEAN Community to stabilise security and overcome regional challenges, said a Malaysian expert.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of the ASEAN (August 8, 1967 - 2023), Associate Professor Dr. Awang Azman Bin Awang Pawi from the Universiti Malaya, also highlighted some specific achievements in the efforts to build the ASEAN Community, including the principle of cooperation; ASEAN's an active, proactive and flexible role in preventing conflicts in the region; and the attainment of trade liberalisation.
As for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, the bloc is implementing an initiative on intra-regional educational cooperation exchanges to ensure human resources as well as the quality of education and training of countries, according to the expert.
Associate Professor Dr. Awang Azman Bin Awang Pawi from the Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. (Photo: VNA) According to Awang, this helps preserve the cultural and economic achievements of each country in the region as well as tell their residents about the history. It also offers chances for exchange in terms of job opportunities and intensive research programmes to diversify the development of young human resources.
He emphasised that the three pillars will open up a lot of opportunities for development and cooperation, but also pose many challenges for each country.
It is important that ASEAN countries will always respect and accompany each other on the path of economic development and strengthening ASEAN's position in the world arena, he noted./.
