Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is joining leaders from other ASEAN countries at the 15th ASEAN Summit which opened in Cha-am and Hua Hin, Thailand, on Oct. 23.

Aside from the main summit, he will attend concurrently held summits for ASEAN Plus One, ASEAN Plus Three and the East Asia Summit, which will also see the participation of leaders from China , Japan , the Republic of Korea , India , Australia and New Zealand .

The 15th ASEAN Summit is the second event to take place after the ASEAN Charter took effect in order to make the organisation’s operations more effective, contributing to enhancing the alliance between the community’s members and cooperation with non-bloc partners.

Speaking at the opening of the gathering, Thai PM Abhisit Veijjajiva said the ASEAN bloc, with its solidarity, has succeeded in weathering global and regional challenges such as the financial crisis, climate change, food security, natural disasters and epidemics.

He showed his confidence that the bloc would continue developing prosperously toward becoming a comprehensive community by 2015.

Also on Oct. 23, PM Dung and his ASEAN counterparts held an unofficial dialogue with representatives from the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) as part of the summit.

At the event, ASEAN leaders underscored the importance of bilateral dialogue and called upon the AIPA to contribute to making policies, implementing the ASEAN Charter and building the ASEAN Community by 2015 based on the three pillars of politics-security, economy and society-culture.

Addressing the meeting, PM Dung expressed his delight at the increasing cooperation between the parliaments of ASEAN member countries and the numerous activities and achievements of the AIPA General Assembly over recent years.

He stressed the increasing role of the Assembly and member parliaments in implementing the target of building the ASEAN Community.

He said Vietnam has been preparing for its assumption of the ASEAN chair in 2010 and the AIPA chair in the 2009-2010 term.

He said he hoped Vietnam would receive the support and assistance of other countries to its hosting of ASEAN events and the 31st AIPA General Assembly in September next year.

Also at the meeting, Deputy Chairperson of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tong Thi Phong on behalf of the AIPA delegation said it was an important forum for the two organisations of the region to exchange opinions in order to reach common ground in dealing with regional issues, and to further coordination on implementing targets set by the ASEAN Charter.

She suggested promoting regular interaction between the AIPA member parliaments and between the AIPA and the ASEAN in building legislative initiatives in order to harmonise ASEAN countries’ laws./.