PM affirms success of Vietnam’s ASEAN Chair term

Vietnam has played its role as Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) well in 2010, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung remarked on the final day of the country’s term.
Vietnam has played its role as Chair of the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) well in 2010, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dungremarked on the final day of the country’s term.

The following is the full text of the speech made by the Prime Minister on the occasion:
“Today, the 31st December, 2010, Vietnam officially concludes its termas the rotating Chair of ASEAN. We are all pleased and proud as Vietnamhas done a good job in the position, obtaining a maximum level of allset targets and making a deep mark of its own both in terms of thecontent as well as in organisation and management work. The year’ssuccess was manifested by important results of long-lasting significancefor the interests of ASEAN and the region as well as our country,” thePM said.

He went on to say that for ASEAN, its membercountries’ common determination and efforts under the theme “Towards theASEAN Community: from vision to action” had made substantial changesand realised an important step toward the target of forming the ASEANCommunity by 2015. The ASEAN connectivity shifted towards action andpracticality; with concrete progress made in the implementation of theASEAN Charter and the Roadmap to build the ASEAN Community based onthree major pillars: political-security, economic and socio-cultural, aswell as in other important plans, especially the ASEAN ConnectivityMaster Plan. ASEAN’s external ties and central role in the region werestrengthened and promoted, manifested by new and significantdevelopments of the regional co-operation frameworks in which ASEANplayed a decisive role such as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, the East-Asia Summit(EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’Meeting Plus (ADMM+). ASEAN also made important contributions tointernational forums such as APEC, ASEM, the G20 and the United Nations.Partners have been attaching greater importance to the relationshipwith ASEAN, supporting its central role in the region, intensifyingmultifaceted co-operation, and increasing commitments to assist ASEAN invarious forms, including financial assistance.

“For the EastAsia region, an environment of peace, security, co-operation anddevelopment has been strengthened and developed. Through utilisingregional peace and security mechanisms and instruments, ASEAN worked toobtain positive changes in an effort to increase dialogues andco-operation, build confidence and share conduct standards regardingpolitical-security issues, including complicated ones such as the EastSea and the Korean Peninsula. The co-operation towards a sustainabledevelopment and preparedness for coping with global challenges,particularly climate change and natural disasters prevention along withthe sub-regional Mekong co-operation, also saw remarkable progresswithin ASEAN itself as well as between ASEAN and its partners throughthe ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 and EAS frameworks,” the PM said.

According to the PM, Vietnam had fulfilled at the highest level all settargets in strengthening ASEAN solidarity and co-operation, promoting amore favourable regional environment for the country’s security anddevelopment as well as improving its international role and position.

The country implemented well the tasks of the ASEAN Chair underthe motto of “activeness, taking initiative and responsibility”,proposed the right themes and focuses for co-operation, and put forthvaluable initiatives and suitable measures, Dung stressed.

Vietnam also completed the compilation of many important documents,successfully chaired and organised many successive meetings as well asmade appropriate co-ordination and settlements to reach a consensus onmajor ASEAN decisions and on several complicated issues, he added.
The PM went on to say that countries’ leaders and delegates as well asdomestic and international opinions spoke highly of Vietnam’sorganisation and monitoring of conferences and its dynamic and agileguiding role.

He added that the country had also seized theopportunity when foreign leaders attended ASEAN events to hold bilateraltalks and meetings during which many important agreements were reached,thus helping boost the comprehensive and practical development ofbilateral ties between Vietnam and those countries.
Vietnamalso made the best use of opportunities to promote the country, people,history, culture and development potential of Vietnam to countries’leaders and delegates as well as the international press, he noted.

The results reached during the year that Vietnam sat in the ASEANChair in particular and the country’s 15-year ASEAN participation ingeneral again affirmed the strategic importance and long-term interestsof Vietnam's membership of ASEAN, an important part in the country’sforeign policy of independence, self-control, diversification andmultilateralisation of relations and taking the initiative in regionaland international integration.

The government leader statedthat Vietnam’s great efforts and important contributions to ASEAN onceagain confirmed the country’s consistent policy of attaching importanceto ASEAN in both multilateral co-operation and bilateral relations aswell as of doing its utmost for a stronger and more united ASEAN withclose connectivity.

The success of the ASEAN presidency yearmarked Vietnam’s considerable maturity in the regional and internationalintegration process, he said, adding that the country could draw manyvaluable lessons, especially on the clear-sighted and timely steering ofthe Party and State; the close co-ordination among ministries, agenciesand localities; the dedication, activeness and responsibility ofofficials who directly participated in ASEAN activities; and thethorough grasp and skilful application of the Party and State’sprinciples and guidelines regarding external relations, particularly inmultilateral diplomacy.

On the occasion, PM Dung applauded theefforts made by all ministries, agencies, localities and bodies in theNational Committee for ASEAN 2010 and officials who directly servedactivities during the 2010 ASEAN presidency year.

The PM, onbehalf of the Vietnamese Government and people, extended sincere thanksto the governments and peoples of ASEAN member nations as well as thebloc’s partner countries for their valuable support and assistance toVietnam as the ASEAN Chair.

He expressed his wish thatIndonesia, the ASEAN Chair 2011, will continue to take ASEAN to newsuccesses in the common efforts towards the establishment of the ASEANCommunity in 2015.

In conclusion, the Vietnamese PM wished ASEAN a successful new year./.

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